The National Team Management Committee of Bangladesh Football Federation urged the national footballers to be more professional about their responsibilities. The NTMC members visited the national camp for the Merdeka Cup at BKSP on Sunday.
   Badal Roy, the chairman of the NTMC, was realistic about the recommendation. ‘We want to motivate our footballers so they can produce their best, we are going to take a number of steps towards the security of their career and we elaborated those to the players, in return we can also expect some commitment and highest level of performances from them,’ said Badal.
   The BFF has taken initiative to insure the players against injury while playing for the national team. The federation has also declared an incentive bonus of $200 per player for each international win and $100 for a draw.
   The first eleven players will each receive an allowance of $60, the substitutes will get $40 and the reserve players will be paid $25 per match. Moreover, the BFF is thinking to introduce monthly salaries for the national pool players.
   Badal was hopeful about the future. ‘There were a lot of complaints and anger among the national footballers, we hope after the implementation of these plans all will be wiped out, we want our players to perform to their best, we hope to take the steps before the Merdeka Cup,’ said the former national midfielder.
   ‘We discovered that all the players are very committed to their practice, but the true picture will come out after three of four days, we will try our best to inspire our footballers,’ said Badal.
   Arif Khan Joy and Mehedi Hasan Uzzal have not joined the national camp. Though Uzzal informed about his unavailability through a letter Joy’s absence has no official explanation.

Spain’s Fernando Alonso snapped a year-long win drought to take the Singapore Grand Prix Sunday, winning a drama-filled first ever night race as a comical error cost Felipe Massa dearly.
   It was the Renault driver’s first victory since the Italian Grand Prix last year and capped a remarkable weekend that saw him top two of the free practice sessions but start 15th on the grid after a mechanical problem in qualifying.
   He claimed his 20th career triumph by 2.95 seconds over Germany’s Nico Rosberg in a Williams and Britain’s world championship leader Lewis Hamilton in third.
   Toyota driver Timo Glock was fourth with Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel following up his win in Italy this month with fifth. BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld took sixth.
   ‘It is fantastic, I am extremely happy. I can’t believe it right now and it will take a few days to realise what we have done,’ said Alonso.
   ‘Winning had seemed impossible all season but we have been competitive all weekend. The car was super.’
   The race was a new experience for every driver on a street circuit under powerful spotlights and it turned out to be one of the most exciting of the season.
   Despite dark clouds lurking, Singapore’s notorious tropical downpours stayed away and the whole race was run in dry, but hot and humid conditions.
   Rosberg scored his best ever finish and was over the moon.
   ‘The car felt pretty good and we knew we could be strong on this track and for once the luck went with us,’ he said.
   Similarly, Hamilton was happy to get points while Massa didn’t.
   ‘I enjoyed driving here and I’m pretty happy,’ he said. ‘It was a tough weekend but we got some good points.’
   Ferrari’s Massa started from pole but a disastrous mistake cost him the race and valuable points in his push for the world title.
   His 13th place finish means he is now seven points behind Hamilton in the championship hunt with just three Grand Prix
   left at Japan, China and Brazil.
   The Brazilian was in the pits on lap 15 when he was given the green light and drove off with the fuel hose still attached to his car, leaving one of the pit crew floored and subsequently carted off in a neck brace.
   Massa ended up sitting in his Ferrari at the end of the pit lane as the crew ran after him and managed to pull the hose free, but it ruined his chances. He was given a drive through penalty and rejoined in 18th place.
   It was a miserable night for Ferrari with defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen ramming his car into the barriers with just four laps left.
   The Massa drama occurred after the cars came in when Nelson Piquet careered into the wall, causing massive damage to his Renault.
   He climbed out unscathed but the safety car was deployed.
   Massa was leading at the time with Hamilton second but at the restart, Rosberg was in front and Alonso fifth.
   But Rosberg was subsequently slapped with a 10-second stop penalty for coming into the pits before it had opened after the Piquet crash.
   The complicated scenario saw Toyota’s Jarno Trulli in the lead on lap 28 but without having pitted with Alonso second, Rosberg third and Hamilton charging in sixth.
   With Trulli taking his first pit stop soon after Alonso amazingly found himself in front just after the halfway mark with a 4.9 second lead over Rosberg.
   Alonso came in for his second pit stop on lap 41 and came out still ahead, marginally ahead of David Coulthard and Hamilton.
   Remarkably, when Coulthard pitted soon after, he too drove off with the fuel pipe attached, knocking over a mechanic who was stretchered off with an injured ankle.
   There was more action to come.
   Alonso was cruising with a 23 second lead when Adrian Sutil shunted his Force India into the wall, bringing the safety car out again and wiping out the Spaniard’s advantage.
   When they restarted with seven laps left it was a sprint to the finish and two-time world champion Alonso made no mistake, writing his name in the record books as the first winner of a Formula One night race.

Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie was delighted to put his recent calf injury behind him to break his own world record on Sunday at the Berlin Marathon for the second consecutive year in the German capital.
   The 35-year-old brushed off a calf injury he suffered in training two weeks ago to come home in a time of 2hrs 03min 59sec.
   He took nearly half a minute off his own previous world record of 2hrs 04mins 26sec set here twelve months ago to fulfill his own confident pre-race prediction of setting a new best mark.
   This was the sixth time the world record has been broken in Berlin on the traditionally flat course.
   ‘I am so, so happy, everything was perfect, the weather was perfect, the spectators were perfect, everything - I am so happy’ said the Ethiopian.
   ‘Two weeks ago I had a bit of a problem with my calf muscle, but I took a week off.
   ‘It gave me a few worries coming here, but I forgot about it as the race wore on.
   ‘I knew before I came here I could do something special, if you look from the beginning, everyone in Berlin seems to come and watch the race, it’s a wonderful feeling.’
   The twice Olympic 5000m champion has plenty of reasons to be happy.
   As well as breaking the 26th world record of his career he will receive 50,000 euros (73,000 US dollars) for winning on top of his estimated 250,000 euros (365,000 US dollars) fee for racing here.
   It was his sixth victory in his ninth marathon and this was the 35th Berlin marathon.
   Kenya’s James Kwambai finished second in a time of 2hrs 5mins 36secs and his compatriot Charles Kamathi was third in 2hrs 7mins 48secs.
   Germany’s Irina Mikitenko, who won the London Marathon earlier this year, won the women’s race in a time of 2hrs 19mins 18secs which was a personal best and the fastest time in the world this year.

New Zealand’s captain Daniel Vettori wants wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum to bat at No. 5 to bolster an inexperienced top order in the upcoming Tests against Bangladesh and Australia. McCullum, who was usually used at No 7 or No 8, was pushed up the order during the Tests against England earlier this year.
   ‘Without Brendon in there, all of the top six apart from Jamie How, have played fewer than 10 Tests. And Jamie’s only played a handful more,’ Vettori told the Sunday Star Times. ‘We need Brendon there for his capability but also for his experience.
   ‘Brendon’s the sort of guy who’d like to bat as high up the order as possible. He’s probably not happy about languishing at No. 5. But it’s important he’s in the mix because we’ve got such an inexperienced top-order.’ Vettori said the other benefits of McCullum at No 5 were that it will ease the pressure on all-rounder Jacob Oram and allow Daniel Flynn to settle in at No 6.
   Vettori also suggested that Jesse Ryder, who had an impressive start to his international career before injuring himself in an incident at a Christchurch bar, was likely to make his Test debut. ‘I think there’s good reason to be optimistic when you think about a middle order that might include [Ross] Taylor, Ryder, Baz [McCullum] and [Jacob] Oram,’ he said. ‘But it’s also important to have strength in the supporting areas, and especially at the top of the innings. It would be good if Jamie [How] and Aaron Redmond can make the most of their chances.’
   New Zealand leave for Bangladesh on Tuesday for two Tests and three one-day internationals.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga stunned Novak Djokovic to win the Thailand Open on Sunday and help erase his loss to the Serbian in the final of this year’s Australian Open.
   Tsonga, ranked 20 in the world, fell to his knees after the 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 victory against the world number three in only his second tournament back at the top after missing three months from knee surgery.
   The win, in only his second career final, was sweet revenge for the Frenchman after he lost the Grand Slam final eight months ago to the Serbian.
   But he admitted that he originally didn’t fancy his chances.
   ‘I didn’t believe that I would win,’ he said. ‘But I played unbelievable, it was like a dream. But that’s how you are obliged to play against an opponent like Novak.’
   Tsonga, playing in only his second tournament, said it was a ‘really tough win.’
   The hard-fought victory, which came in 92 minutes, denied Djokovic his fourth trophy of the season and the chance to move closer in the rankings to world number two Roger Federer.
   Tsonga saved two break points in the final game, falling to his knees in joy as Djokovic sent a return long on match point.
   The defeat was the 14th of the season for Djokovic against 58 wins and left the 21-year-old 10-6 in career finals.
   ‘I couldn’t do it today, I lost to a great player,’ said Djokovic, who earned his last trophy in May at Rome.
   ‘But all credit to Jo for winning his first title. I’m sure we will be seeing a lot more of him. He did a great job today.’
   Djokovic, who finally cleared his jet-lag after last weekend’s Davis Cup in Europe, will take a few days off at the Thai resort island of Koh Samui, avoiding the standard tennis pattern of rushing to the airport after the final.

Rookie bowlers Doug Bolligner and Jason Krejza picked three wickets each as the Australians drew their two-day warm-up match against a local side here on Sunday.
   Left-arm seamer Bollinger took 3-9 while off spinner Kreza picked 3-35 to help their side bowl out the RCA Centre of Excellence team for 122 an hour into the post-lunch session, after which the game was called off by mutual consent.
   Paceman Brett Lee (2-17) and Peter Siddle (1-7) also tasted success with the ball and provided initial breakthroughs.
   The Australians had made 218 in their first innings with Simon Katich top-scoring with 73.
   The local batsmen struggled with the bat, Gagan Khoda being the highest scorer with 33.
   The match was played under flexible conditions, with the teams deciding not to start a second innings. The Australian batsmen opted to practise against their own bowlers in the afternoon.
   The visitors are slated to play another practice match against an Indian Board President’s XI in Hyderabad from October 2-5 before the start of the first Test in Bangalore on October 9.
   Brief Scores:
   Australians: 218 (S Katich 73; Gajendra Singh 5-58)
   RCA Centre of Excellence XI: 122 (D Bollinger 3-9, J Krejza 3-35; G Khoda 33).

Security measures for the Australian team on tour in India will be increased in the wake of the latest bomb blast in New Delhi, a cricket board official said Sunday.
   A blast in a crowded market on Saturday left two dead and 22 injured, raising fresh security concerns ahead of the four-Test series that begins in Bangalore on October 9. New Delhi is to host the third Test from October 29.
   ‘We are in touch with the Home Ministry,’ Rajiv Shukla, the chairman of board’s media committee, said. ‘The security provided to the Australian team will be increased,’ he was quoted as saying by Cricketnext website.
   ‘An advisory has been sent to all state governments hosting the Tests. For now, the Delhi Test is on. There is no need to panic.’
   Saturday’s blast came a fortnight after 24 people were killed in a series of five bomb blasts in New Delhi. ‘If we have to do anything besides the normal security drill we will do (it) only after getting instructions from Cricket Australia,’ team spokesman Matthew Slade told the media in Jaipur where the visitors are playing a practice match.
   Their second practice match is against an Indian Board President’s XI in Hyderabad from October 2-5.

Michael Clarke, the Australian vice-captain, has said the decision to send Andrew Symonds home ahead of the recent home ODI series against Bangladesh in Darwin was a collective one, and not made by him alone.
   Symonds was punished by the team’s leadership group for missing a team meeting - he was out instead on a fishing trip - but the move fuelled speculation that the sanction was made by Clarke. ‘When I was given the vice-captaincy, I knew part of that role was making sure you put the team first. The one thing that has probably been misinterpreted is that I didn’t make the decision to send Andrew Symonds home on my own, it was the leadership group,’ Clarke told the Age.
   The leadership group also included Ponting, coach Tim Nielsen and team manager Steve Bernard, but it was Clarke who faced the media soon after the decision was made.
   Clarke denied rumours of a rift between the two. ‘We believed and still believe it was best for the team and best for Symmo as well. I have made clear that I am still great friends with Andrew and I will be until the day I die. I want him back playing because I love playing cricket with him.’
   Symonds is not part of Australia’s touring party in India, a place where Clarke announced his arrival on the Test scene. The first of four Tests will be at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the same ground where he had scored a century on debut. ‘I want it to feel the same,’ Clarke said. ‘Four years ago for my debut, it was tough cricket but my mindset was just about absolutely soaking up every chance of playing Test cricket for my country.
   ‘I don’t think that has changed, even if my role in the team has changed a little bit.’

Dismissing suggestions that he has become a spent force in one day cricket, Australian opener Matthew Hayden has said he has no plans to retire from the shorter version of the game although national selectors are in jeopardy about his future.
   ‘The big thing is I haven’t lost my passion for one day cricket and while I’m performing there, I’ll keep playing it,’ Hayden was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.
   ‘The significant part of my decision is whether Matthew Hayden is affecting the team negatively in the run to the World Cup? I don’t see that being a consideration yet.’
   ‘I’m as motivated now as I’ve ever been. That’s really driving my insatiable appetite for runs,’ he added.
   Recently Hayden’s tenure in Australian team has come under the scanner with both Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson knocking the doors of the selectors for the opening slot in the run to the 2011 World Cup.
   Although Hayden, who will turn 37 next month, remains the first choice, national selectors Andrew Hilditch, Jamie Cox, David Boon and Merv Hughes are desperate to consult him on the best way to usher in the next generation.
   Marsh and Watson have forged a formidable partnership, posting 70 plus stands in three of their first six innings together.
   In particular, Marsh, son of former Australian vice captain Geoff, has been a revelation, averaging 47.57 in his first eight outings in the international arena.
   Australian coach Tim Nielsen said the national selectors are planning to sit down with Hayden to discuss his future.
   ‘The selectors will sit down with him and work out where he’s moving over the next 12 months and how he d like to go about that,’ said Nielsen.

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has made technical adjustments to his grip during a batting clinic held in Christchurch last week. The team’s batting coach Mark O’ Neill believed Taylor had returned from the IPL with a grip that made him play across the line, which led to several poor scores during the following Test series in England.
   ‘He’d come back from the IPL with a bit of an issue around his grip’, O’ Neill told the Herald on Sunday. ‘It didn’t allow him to play in the areas he should have, through the offside. It tended to force him to hit across the line’.
   Taylor’s performance in the Tests against England, barring a 154 not out at Old Trafford, was disappointing: he failed to reach 25 in five innings and was found out playing across the line.
   O’Neill, however, was satisfied with Taylor’s technical progress over the off-season. ‘He’s made a couple of tweaks,’ he said. ‘With a player like Ross Taylor that’s all you [need], and the key is being able to maintain those. He’s a good player, takes suggestions in the way they are meant, and understands what coaching is about.’
   New Zealand are leaving for a two-Test and three-ODI tour of Bangladesh on Tuesday but Taylor’s technique will face a tougher test against likes of Stuart Clark and Brett Lee during the tour of Australia in November.

Andy Roddick held off a fierce challenge from Israeli underdog Dudi Sela to win the China Open final Sunday as top seed Jelena Jankovic sealed the women’s title with a thumping win.
   Big-serving Roddick, the second seed in the Beijing tournament, overcame 92-ranked Sela 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 while Jankovic defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets.
   Pushed throughout by his unfancied opponent, Roddick failed to take two match points in the second set tie-break as Sela recovered to level the match.
   In the third and deciding set, Sela, who showed a willingness to come into the net throughout, continued to impress with the range of his shot-making, but could not force the break from Roddick.
   Instead it was the world number eight who made the crucial breakthrough in the sixth game and despite further scares, he took the set 6-3 in a match lasting just over two hours.
   ‘I think he was definitely playing well this week and I thought he played well today also,’ Roddick said of Sela, who earlier in the tournament put out top seed David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo.
   ‘At the back of my mind (I knew) I’d played in 38-40 finals and I knew this was his first one so I knew that had to count for something. So I wanted at least to stay in there and compete even though he was the hot player for the majority of the day,’ he added.
   The Israeli was pleased with his performance in the final and said the 524,000-dollar tournament had given him a major confidence boost.
   In the women’s final, top seed and 2007 runner-up Jankovic beat Russia’s Kuznetsova, the 2006 winner, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour, 14 minutes.
   From 3-2 down in the first set, Jankovic won nine of the next ten games to establish an iron grip on the match and fourth seed Kuznetsova could not match the intensity of the Serbian’s play.
   Although Jankovic faltered when serving for the match, a succession of errors from the Kuznetsova racket in the following game gave her another chance and she took the second set 6-2.
   Jankovic said she was motivated to beat Kuznetsova after losing to her at this month’s Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
   She rejected the Russian’s assessment that her own error-strewn game had meant she had not had to play her best to win.
   ‘I did what I needed to do to win the match. My level of tennis was enough to win. If she was not in the top of her game I could not really do anything but I think I played good tactically,’ Jankovic said.
   ‘I really was forcing some of the shots and didn’t really allow her to play her game.’
   Earlier, a disappointed Kuznetsova, who has lost all five finals she has played this year, said: ‘She was stable like she always does but I could not even let her show a good game because I was doing all the mistakes.’
   Jankovic’s victory in the 600,000-dollar women’s tournament takes her to within a handful of points of world number one Serena Williams.
   Meanwhile in the men’s doubles final, Australia’s Stephen Huss and Britain’s Ross Hutchins beat Australian Ashley Fisher and Bobby Reynolds, from the United States, 7-5, 6-4.
   And in the women’s doubles final, the Spanish-Danish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Caroline Wozniacki beat Chinese pair Han Xinyun and Xu Yi-Fan 6-1, 6-3.

Nathan Bracken, the Australian fast bowler, says he does not know what else he must do to make Australia’s Test side. ‘I have done everything - and more - that has been asked of me by Cricket Australia . They pointed out a few areas I needed to work on,’ he told the Sun-Herald. ‘I have ticked off each and every box on that list.
   ‘I have worked hard on and off the field. I go to the gym in my own time, I even did early-morning boxing classes with the former world-title contender Troy Waters before I needed to rest my knee after surgery. I do plenty of net bowling sessions, I work on my batting where possible and think a lot about my bowling and how to improve. As soon I received the summer schedule I was thinking about where I wanted to be at certain stages of the summer season.’
   Despite taking 203 first-class wickets, Bracken - who has 148 wickets from 92 ODIs - is primarily seen as a limited-overs bowler, as five Tests in eight years indicate. In August, Bracken made it to the top of the ICC rankings for ODI bowlers. In his view, that should have counted in his favour when it came time to pick Australia’s Test squad.
   ‘It’s funny but I have people come up to me on the street - and they’re cricket supporters, not former Test players or critics - who say they can’t understand why I don’t make the Test team because they see me take wickets in the one-dayers,’ he said. ‘Their view is if I can take wickets in the one-dayers then I should be able to get them in the longer form. It’s my view, too. Maybe they should send letters and emails to the selectors.’
   Bracken, 31, said no one from Cricket Australia spoke to him about his non-selection. He did, however, admit that a decision to bowl against India at the SCG in 2004, despite having a groin injury, affected his Test chances. Bracken went wicketless for 133 runs, but said he decided to bowl, even on three paces, ‘for all the right reasons’. ‘I have no doubt about that. I was asked by someone I respected to keep bowling despite the injury,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t my best bowling performance but because it was my captain’s last game and I wanted to do what I could for Steve [Waugh].
   ‘I did it for all the right reasons and that was important. I’d also been told there was a perception that I struggled to play with injury or through pain,’ Bracken said. ‘I thought that view might change after that Test. It actually helped me mentally, taught me to push through things. Last season I played with a knee injury up until it reached the stage where I needed an operation.’
   Asked if he would consider leaving Australia to play exclusively in lucrative Twenty20 leagues, such as the IPL or Stanford competitions, Bracken said it had crossed his mind. ‘Twenty20 is already very popular and it is only getting bigger. It is something a lot of players will probably consider because it is played in a relatively short amount of time, the money is good and you’re able to play cricket. And we all love playing cricket. I’ve spoken to a few rugby league players who say leaving Australia for England allows them the opportunity to make good money quick.

Bayern Munich’s France midfielder Franck Ribery admitted Sunday he is impatient to face compatriots Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday when all French eyes will be on him.
   ‘Finally, the Champions League game is here,’ an excited Ribery told Die Welt on Sunday ahead of the Group F clash at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
   The 25-year-old only returned from injury a week ago after three months out with torn ankle ligaments playing for France in Euro 2008 and missed Bayern’s opening Champions League win at Steaua Bucharest earlier this month.
   ‘It is a very special match for me, as it is against Lyon, and I am very impatient for the match to start.
   ‘I am quite conscious that this Tuesday all of my country will have their eyes turned towards me.’
   Ribery made his first appearance of the season for Bayern in the 5-2 defeat to Werder Bremen last weekend when he came off the bench for the last 25 minutes.
   He also played the second-half at Hanover on Saturday when Bayern were beaten 1-0 - their second consecutive league defeat - to go ninth in the Bundesliga on Saturday night.
   And the French star admitted his side were ‘perhaps missing something’ after their less then impressive start to the season as coach Jurgen Klinsmann rotated his squad to rest players ahead of the Lyon visit.
   ‘In terms of quality, our team can rival the big clubs of Europe like Chelsea or Barcelona,’ said Ribery.
   ‘But perhaps our manpower is not sufficiently packed to succeed head to head with the large teams. On that point, perhaps we are missing something,’ said Ribery.
   But the Frenchman says he remains positive about Bayern’s chances of turning their season around.
   Ribery said: ‘One should expect these difficulties, because there are many new innovations at the club.
   ‘We need time to apply the philosophy of Jurgen Klinsmann.
   ‘When that happens, we will be better, and we will try to again be the champions of Germany.’
   Ribery added his goal is to help Bayern reach the Champions League quarter-finals or beyond.

A consortium of South Africa businessmen were on Sunday reported to be interested in purchasing crisis-ridden Premier League side Newcastle.
   Newcastle have already been in talks with a group of Nigerian tycoons trying to put together enough funds to meet owner Mike Ashley’s 400 million pound asking price.
   Now it’s emerged that a second white knight may be on the horizon in the shape of a group of British-based tycoons whose fortune has been made from rescuing and rejuvenating household brands around the world.
   A report in The News of the World suggests the South Africans have put together a 350m pound offer.
   ‘We are serious about Newcastle, we believe they are an iconic institution who deserve to be run professionally,’ an unnamed spokesman for the South Africans told the paper.
   The spokesman added that Kevin Keegan, who quit as manager this month, was the key to the group taking control, with another favourite son of the Tyneside club, Alan Shearer, also in their thoughts.
   He said: ‘Kevin is integral to our plans. We want Kevin to be fully committed to the team and we hope to find a role for Alan Shearer.
   ‘We are not personalities.
   We like to be in the background, we need to be in the background.’
   The group are confident of turning around Newcastle’s fortunes, with the spokesman saying: ‘The existing management structure has not worked so we’ll pay Mike Ashley what it takes to get rid of him.
   ‘The level of expertise we have is in discovering the real problem preventing success. We want to find the root problem and turn the club around.
   ‘We will give the Newcastle fans what they want.’
   Ashley has appointed Joe Kinnear as an interim manager until the sale of the club goes through.

Jermain Defoe returned to haunt Tottenham manager Juande Ramos as the Portsmouth striker set up a 2-0 victory that kept his former club rooted to the bottom of the Premier League on Sunday.
   Defoe was allowed to leave White Hart Lane last season after failing to impress Ramos but the England star got his revenge at Fratton Park.
   He opened the scoring with a first half penalty after Jermaine Jenas had carelessly handled and played a key role in Peter Crouch’s second half header.
   Portsmouth had Lassana Diarra sent off in the closing moment but Spurs couldn’t avoid a fourth defeat in six league matches.
   Ramos’s side have made their worst start for 53 years and increasingly resemble a team in total disarray.
   The pre-season departures of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane have left them bereft of any attacking threat and Ramos appears uncertain how to get the best out of his new signings.
   While it is too early to talk of a relegation fight, Spurs’ lofty ambition to break into the Champions League places has already been reduced to a pipe-dream.
   Portsmouth had conceded 10 goals in their last two games so boss Harry Redknapp was relieved to welcome back former Tottenham centre-half Sol Campbell and French midfielder Diarra.
   Ramos dropped leading scorer Darren Bent and also left Luka Modric on the bench as he handed recalls to David Bentley, Gilberto and Michael Dawson.
   Defoe was playing against his former club for the first time and the Portsmouth forward had the ball in Tottenham’s net in the third minute, but his clinical strike was correctly ruled out for offside.
   Portsmouth threatened again soon after when Richard Hughes, stretching to hit Defoe’s lay-off, forced a fine save from Heurelho Gomes.
   Hughes drew another impressive stop from Gomes with a low volley from the edge of the penalty area that the Tottenham keeper smartly parried away.
   Spurs were clearly lacking confidence and cohesion. Jamie O’Hara’s tame shot straight at David James midway through the half summed up their uncertainty.
   Ramos’s side were set-up in damage-limitation mode with five in midfield bu that just invited pressure and they cracked in the 33rd minute.
   Glen Little whipped in a free-kick from the right and Jenas rashly stuck out his arm to control the ball.
   Referee Mike Dean immediately pointed to the spot and Defoe stepped up to lash the penalty past Gomes. He made a point of keeping his celebration to a minimum as a mark of respect to his former supporters packed behind Gomes’s goal.
   Ramos replaced Gilberto with Aaron Lennon at half-time and Didier Zokora with Giovani dos Santos just before the hour mark.
   Tottenham briefly sparked into life when Bentley shot just wide before Dean waved away apeals for a penalty when Diarra appeared to handle Lennon’s cross.
   But Portsmouth went further ahead in the 68th minute with a superbly-crafted goal.
   Defoe turned Dawson on the edge of the area and picked out Armand Traore wide on the left. The on-loan Arsenal youngster drove in a low shot that Gomes could only parried towards Crouch, who rose to head into the empty net from close-range.
   The sense of crisis enveloping Spurs deepened when Ramos’s decision to send on Bent in place of Roman Pavlyuchenko was greeted by chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” by Tottenham’s unhappy fans.
   Diarra was sent off in the 88th minute for a second booking after making a rash lunge on Benoit Assou-Ekotto but Spurs were already down and out.

Italian ace Valentino Rossi clinched his sixth world premier-class title in perfect fashion here Sunday when he edged out defending champion Casey Stoner in the Japanese Grand Prix.
   Yamaha’s Rossi overtook the Australian Ducati rider on lap 14 of 24 and never looked back, taking the title and his eighth MotoGP win of the season in 43min 09.599sec with Stoner 1.943 sec behind.
   Honda rider Dani Pedrosa of Spain finished third, 2.923 sec further back.
   ‘I was confident with the bike and it is fantastic to win the championship with a race win,’ the 29-year-old said.
   ‘The battle this year was very tough especially with the guys like Stoner and Pedrosa,’ he said. ‘It was a long season with a lot of hard battles and I’m so happy.’
   Rossi needed only to finish third at Motegi to win the title, but the Italian took the chequered flag to extend his lead to an unbeatable 92 points over Stoner with three races left in the season.
   It was the fifth straight GP win for Rossi, nicknamed the Doctor for his meticulous planning and racing, and his first MotoGP title in three years.

Juventus missed the chance to go top of Serie A, for one day at least, as they were held to a bore 0-0 draw at Sampdoria on Saturday.
   Alberto Gilardino was the hero as Fiorentina won for the second time this season, 1-0 at home to Genoa.
   Juve remain unbeaten and moved up to third in the table with the point but sorry Sampdoria are still searching for their first win of the season after four draws and a defeat in their first five matches.
   The Turin giants’ Italy centre-half Giorgio Chiellini admitted the team needs to improve but refused to blame his strikers.
   ‘Unfortunately we didn’t manage to score. We hoped to but it was a difficult match,’ he said.
   ‘But even though the forwards failed to score ... the defence concedes few goals and part of that is thanks to the help we get from the forwards.’
   But Chiellini said it would be wrong to read too much into their record of just two wins from their first five matches.
   ‘There’s only been five matches and its too early to run away. Of course it would be better to be in front but the championship is long and we’ll bounce back in the next matches.’
   Sampdoria coach Walter Mazzarri complained that his team had been hard done by.
   ‘Today we deserved to win. The clearest chances were ours, we were only in danger on the break twice,’ he said.
   In a dreadful game devoid of much action the visitors came closest to breaking the deadlock before the break.
   After just four minutes veteran striker Alessandro Del Piero forced Samp goalkeeper Antonio Mirante into a sprawling save from a free-kick before Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen fired the rebound over the bar.
   Del Piero came close again on 20 minutes after a surging run forward from Mali midfielder Momo Sissoko, showing no ill effects from fasting during the Muslim month of Ramadan.
   Sissoko fed Del Piero who beat Mirante with a shot from the right but saw it clip the outside of the post and go wide.
   Del Piero was proving the most likely source of a goal and on 41 minutes he fired a volley from seven yards over the bar after a flick-on from Brazilian strike partner Amauri, although it was a difficult chance as he hooked a high bouncing ball back over his shoulder.
   The second half was if anything worse than the first although Juve’s Austrian goalkeeper Alex Manninger tipped over a header from Stefano Lucchini while Pavel Nedved fired a volley straight at Mirante up the other end.
   Samp substitute Daniele Dessena could have won it for the hosts deep into injury time but Manninger saved his volley from 15 yards.
   In Florence chances were few and far between in the first half although Riccardo Montolivo had a shot saved by Genoa goalkeeper Rubinho and Gilardino was wildly off target having created space for himself.
   Genoa started brightly after the break and French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey had to be alert to save with his legs from Argetina forward Diego Milito.
   Rubinho then tipped a Marco Donadel shot onto the outside of the post but the hosts were in front on 61 minutes.
   Gilardino did brillaintly to control a bouncing ball in the box and turned to fire a left foot shot across Rubinho into the far corner.
   ‘We’ve won a very important match. After the defeat to Lazio (0-3) we were slated but tonight we showed that we’re a solid and united group, these are three really important points,’ said the match-winner.
   It was his third goal in five league matches this season and sixth in eight in all competitions as the former AC Milan hitman has hit the ground running since his transfer south.

Jose Mourinho fired back on Saturday at press criticism that he lacked respect in failing to turn up to a post-match interview.
   Following Inter’s 1-0 win over Lecce on Wednesday, Mourinho sent his number two Beppe Baresi to talk to the press instead of going himself.
   It was something he often did with his number two at Chelsea Steve Clarke and which Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson almost always did with his assistant Carlos Queiroz as the fiery Scot fell out with media organisations.
   But after being accused of lacking respect, and of avoiding a television interview at the same time as Juventus boss and another former Chelsea handler Claudio Ranieri – with whom Mourinho has been having an ongoing spat this season – the Portuguese hit back.
   ‘I studied Italian for five hours a day for several months to be able to communicate with you journalists, with the fans and you think that I lacked respect for you,’ he said.
   ‘And then you speak about Ranieri who after five years (actually four) in England had trouble saying good morning and good afternoon.
   ‘Who is he? Only the (Inter) president (Massimo) Moratti can tell me not to send Baresi to a press conference and no-one else.
   ‘You didn’t respect Baresi. The concept is clear, if you haven’t understood it I can do you a drawing.’
   Mourinho also drew on his experiences in the English Premiership to argue his case.
   ‘The Premiership is the best product and Sir Alex Ferguson is considered as one of the best coaches in the world,’ he added.
   ‘And yet tell me how many times he didn’t go to see the press? Many and no-one has ever accused him of lacking respect.
   ‘In my short career I’ve sent an assistant 20 times to talk to the press and the 21st time there’s talk of a lack of respect. What’s the problem?
   ‘You’re not in love with football as I thought you would be. All I can see is that everyone is obsessed with little things and not the things that count.’

Didier Drogba has admitted Luiz Felipe Scolari persuaded him to stay at Chelsea when the Ivory Coast striker was considering a move away from Stamford Bridge in the close-season.
   Drogba spent much of last season disgruntled after Jose Mourinho’s shock exit and he was repeatedly linked with a transfer during the transfer window.
   But the former Marseille star eventually decided to snub interest from several top European clubs after an emotional heart-to-heart with new boss Scolari.
   Having worked with the Brazilian for nearly three months now, Drogba is happy that he made the right choice and has likened Scolari to Mourinho.
   ‘Scolari is one of those coaches who is very close to the players. His style is similar to Mourinho’s,’ Drogba told The People.
   ‘I like this type of coach. I feel much more comfortable with this style of management.
   ‘I spoke with him and he showed he wanted me to stay and that is what finally convinced me.
   ‘I have had a lot to think about throughout this summer. It is true that it was 50/50 as to whether I would stay but I still think I have something to prove.’
   Drogba is determined to help Chelsea make amends for last season’s defeat to Manchester United Champions League final.
   The Blues lost out on penalties in Moscow but Drogba believes they can go one step further in the competition under Scolari.
   ‘Europe has become the unfinished business of my career,’ he said. ‘The game against Manchester United in Moscow is still a painful memory for the players.
   ‘We had the cup so close but we have to forget and concentrate on reaching the final again this season.
   ‘Chelsea were better than United in Moscow and we should never have got to penalties. We were on top in extra time and we should have finished the job.
   ‘The team has another air about it at the moment. Scolari has connected well with the squad and that is the key for things to work well. The atmosphere is different to that under Avram Grant.’

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has warned his team-mates not to get carried away by their best start to a Premier League campaign.
   The Reds are second in the table behind Chelsea on goal difference after winning four times in an unbeaten six-match run.
   Rafa Benitez’s side underlined their determined to finally end the club’s 18-year wait for a league title with a ruthless 2-0 win at Merseyside rivals Everton on Saturday.
   But Gerrard has seen plenty of false dawns at Liverpool before and the England midfielder is refusing to let the euphoria around the club distract his squad from the task of extending their impressive start.
   ‘It is important to be humble now and not get carried away,’ he said. ‘We have got a big game on Wednesday in Europe and then another vital match against Manchester City on Sunday. It is important no-one gets carried away.
   ‘There’s a long way to go and we realise how tough it is going to be to still be in the hunt come the end of the campaign, so we need to keep going, but we have set a standard that we need to match week-in, week-out.’
   Liverpool have already beaten Manchester United this season but Gerrard wants to see them perform to the level that out-played Everton on a regular basis.
   ‘The victory was probably our best performance of the season,’ he said. ‘We had been winning games but stumbling along, but this has set the standard now and if we can continue that level then we will certainly be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
   ‘We controlled the game all the way through. It was a statement of our intentions.
   ‘We were together, played some terrific football and the performance showed how frustrated we were not to take maximum points from Stoke the previous weekend.’

French international Thierry Henry may have scored in Barcelona’s 2-1 derby win over Espanyol on Saturday but his exit looks increasingly likely with new manager Pep Guardiola seemingly favouring Samuel Eto’o in the central striking position.
   Cameroon forward Eto’o seemed certain to leave in the summer but stayed on with suitors baulking at his transfer fee and he has become first choice up front with Henry on the substitutes’ bench or out on the left wing.
   Henry still insists his future lies at Barcelona but admits his family ties in London make it difficult.
   ‘At the moment I’m not thinking about leaving and I hope that doesn’t change,’ Henry told Radio Catalunya according to Saturday’s AS daily.
   ‘But sometimes things happen in your life that you don’t expect. I didn’t think I would leave Arsenal and look where I am now.
   ‘Obviously my life is in London because I have my daughter there but that doesn’t mean that I don’t know when I need to concentrate.
   ‘I haven’t won anything with the team yet so I understand that the fans demand so much of us.’
   Henry, now 31, joined Barca for 24 million euros in the summer of 2007 after eight trophy-laden seasons with Arsenal where he scored 174 goals in 254 appearances.
   Last season Frank Rijkaard used him on the left wing – a position he clearly doesn’t like – and Henry admits he made the mistake of playing injured.
   ‘Last season I spoke with Rijkaard and he said that Ronaldinho wasn’t at his best,’ explained Rijkaard. ‘He asked if I could play and I didn’t want to sit out three months so I did.’
   Eto’o also had a stint out on the left wing – where he looks equally uncomfortable.
   ‘He (Henry) is giving his all, working well in defence and attack,’ explained Eto’o. ‘If you dedicate your time to creating goals for your team-mates you are not going to score that many.
   ‘He is not as young as he was at Arsenal and Barcelona don’t play the same but his performances are good. Last season he scored 19 goals without playing in all the matches.’
   At 27, Eto’o is four years Henry’s junior possibly persuading Guardiola that he is the better long-term prospect as the centre forward.

David Moyes revealed that Everton will this week attempt to overturn the red card issued to Tim Cahill during the 2-0 defeat to neighbours Liverpool.
   Cahill’s dismissal – the 17th sending off in 33 Premier League meetings between the Merseyside rivals – came ten minutes from time after the Australia star lunged at Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso.
   Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was left fuming by the challenge and claimed Cahill had ‘lost his head’ as Everton battled to get back into the game after falling behind to two Fernando Torres goals.
   But Moyes was adamant the punishment did not fit the crime and with Cahill set to miss the Blues’ next three league games, will now ask referee Mike Riley to review his decision.
   The Everton manager said: ‘I don’t think it’s a sending off. I think it warranted a yellow card, not a red card.
   ‘We will ask the referee to have another look at it because I don’t think it was the worst tackle in the game today.
   ‘I don’t think anyone in the ground thought it was going to be a red card and so I thought it was because he hadn’t walked to the referee. But that would have been two yellow cards.’
   But Benitez claimed the two footed challenge could have caused a serious injury to his player.
   The Spaniard said: ‘Xabi told me it could have been worse for him. I haven’t seen the replay but I think Cahill lost his head because of a problem with Alvaro Arbeloa just a few moments earlier.’
   Liverpool had the game wrapped up long before Cahill’s dismissal and their clinical performance re-established them as serious title contenders after last week’s frustrating home draw with lowly Stoke.
   Benitez admitted the challenge now facing his side is to remain amongst the pacesetters and Torres’ second and third goals of the season boosted the manager’s belief that Liverpool can push the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea all the way this season.
   The manager added:’ Clearly we have players like Fernando who can play these kind of games and score these kind of goals.
   ‘It means we can play with more confidence and to keep the ball because he is always a threat for defenders.
   ‘We are at the top of the table. If we can stay there for a long time that will be really good.
   ‘At least we have confidence now. We are playing well and you can see the team has a balance. We are strong in defence and when you are playing well you know you can beat anyone.’
   Moyes admitted he was concerned by his own team’s form after Everton made it three defeats from three home league games this season.
   ‘Our start does worry me because it’s the same group of players in the main that finished fifth last year but our performances haven’t matched that.

Bayern Munich dropped to ninth after suffering a ‘totally unnecessary’ 1-0 defeat at Hanover on Saturday as Hamburg regained the top spot in the Bundesliga.
   This was Bayern’s second consecutive league defeat after being hammered 5-2 at home by Werder Bremen last weekend.
   Jurgen Klinsmann’s side were again poor as goalkeeper Michael Rensing was wrong-footed by Hanover midfielder Szabolcs Huszti, whose free-kick flew into the net on 23 minutes.
   ‘It was a totally unnecessary defeat, which has caused us a lot of pain and hurt us, but we have to take it on the chin,’ said Klinsmann, as 12th-placed Hanover picked up only their second win of the season.
   Bayern’s star midfielder Franck Ribery came off the bench in the second period, but the Frenchman failed to work his magic as Bayern had the worst possible preparation for Tuesday night’s Champions League game against Lyon.
   ‘Defensively, we were better today than against Bremen,’ said Bayern’s Germany defender Philipp Lahm.
   ‘But we went forward too little, gave away too many passes and made too many mistakes.’
   Elsewhere, a header after 11 minutes by Croatian striker Mladen Petric was enough to give Hamburg a 1-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach to put them top of the table after Schalke 04 lost on Friday night.
   ‘We succeeded only once in cracking their defence,’ said Hamburg coach Martin Jol. ‘We still need to integrate our new players like (Brazilian winger Thiago) Neves and (midfielder Jonathan) Pitroipa, they can make a difference.
   ‘But there can be no complaints, we have 13 points and are league leaders.’
   And there was some crazy football for ten-man Werder Bremen as midfielder Mesut Oezil hit the winner for the home side in a 5-4 victory over Hoffenheim which put his side third in the table ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash at Inter Milan.
   Having dismantled Bayern the previous week, Werder picked up where they left off by racing into a 4-2 lead at half-time.
   Oezil put Bremen ahead on eight minutes and although Hoffenheim’s Senegal striker Demba Ba equalised soon after, Bremen scored three goals before Hoffenheim’s midfielder Sejad Salihovic curled in a free-kick on 36 minutes to make it 4-2 at the break.
   But Bremen suffered a double blow early in the second half as Hoffenheim’s Vedad Ibisevic converted a penalty to make it 4-3 just a minute before Germany defender Per Mertesacker was shown a red card.
   A header from Hoffenheim defender Marvin Compper on 71 minutes levelled the scores before Oezil hit his second of the game to seal the win on 81 minutes.
   ‘We are not bitterly disappointed about the result and my team played very well,’ said Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick. ‘But we could have won the game and should have.’
   Bayer Leverkusen are up to second in the table thanks to their 3-2 win at struggling VfL Bochum.
   The home-side were 3-0 down but with ten minutes left they scored twice in as many minutes to ensure a dramatic finish.
   Borussia Dortmund are up to fifth thanks to an impressive 3-0 win at home to VfB Stuttgart to seal their first win in five games.
   Energie Cottbus picked up their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Hertha Berlin to lift themselves off the bottom of the table.
   On Friday, Schalke 04 yielded the top spot with a shock 1-0 win at Cologne.
   This was the first time Cologne have beaten Schalke at home in 13 years and a header from Youssef Mohamad just before half-time was enough to give the home side the three points.
   ‘It is the same as piano players, you can’t just achieve success like this by chance, that is why you must practice, practice, practice,’ said Cologne coach Christoph Daum.

Bayern Munich team manager Uli Hoeness admits he is worried after the German giants slumped to their second consecutive league defeat with their first loss in Hanover for 20 years.
   Having been routed 5-2 in Munich the week before
   by Werder Bremen, the defending Bundesliga champions, under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann, were beaten 1-0 thanks to a goal by Hanover’s Szablocs Husti in the 23rd minute.
   Bayern rested several of their stars including Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, Dutch captain Mark van Bommel and had Franck Ribery on the bench.
   But Klinsmann’s side struggled against a poor Hanover team – bad preparation before their Champions League game against Lyon at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
   Saturday’s defeat left Bayern ninth before Sunday’s matches and was the first time they had lost in Hanover since April 16 1988.
   ‘The sight of the table is not pretty,’ said Hoeness.
   ‘That makes me worried, no question.
   ‘I do not believe that this defeat had something to do with rotation.
   ‘One cannot say that the team which played was any worse than Hanover.’

Chelsea reclaimed pole position in the English Premier League’s title battle after Arsenal slumped to a shock home defeat by top flight newcomers Hull City (Nickname ‘Tigers’).
   Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Stoke left them top on goal difference from Liverpool, whose 2-0 derby win over Everton means they have matched the Londoners’ return of four wins and two draws from their opening six league games.
   Champions Manchester United climbed into the top half of the table for the first time this season with a 2-0 win at home to Bolton in which Cristiano Ronaldo opened his league account for the season with a controversial penalty.
   But there was no relief for Newcastle’s long-suffering supporters. A 2-1 home defeat by Blackburn leaves the Magpies mired in the relegation zone and underlined the scale of the task facing interim manager Joe Kinnear, who is due to take charge from Monday.
   Hull became only the second side to beat Arsenal in 60 matches at the Emirates Stadium – and the first since West Ham in April 2007 – after coming from behind to win 2-1.
   Arsenal were below par but still looked set for victory when Paul McShane bundled Theo Walcott’s cross over his own line early in the second half.
   But Hull equalised in spectacular fashion when their Brazilian playmaker Geovanni beat Manuel Almunia with a dipping shot from nearly 30 yards out.
   Minutes later, Daniel Cousin lost Gunners skipper William Gallas to meet a corner with a superb near-post header and Hull held on for a famous win.
   Chelsea were put on track to victory by right-back Jose Bosingwa, who fired in his first goal for the club from an acute angle ten minutes before half-time. Nicolas Anelka then made sure of the points with just under quarter of an hour left.
   Liverpool – who surrendered top spot when they were held at home by Stoke last weekend—reasserted their title credentials with a derby victory sealed by Fernando Torres’s second half double.
   At Old Trafford, Ronaldo made it two goals in as many games with a controversial 60th-minute penalty – television replays showing that Jlloyd Samuel had taken the ball cleanly when the Portugal winger went to ground.
   Wayne Rooney added his first goal for United since April to make sure of the points but even United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted the dubious penalty had constituted a ‘break’ for his side.
   Bolton boss Gary Megson branded referee Rob Styles’s decision ‘a complete howler.’
   Aston Villa’s fine start to the season continued with a 2-1 win over Sunderland lifting Martin O’Neill’s side up to third place.
   Djibril Cisse’s tenth-minute opener for Sunderland was cancelled out by Ashley Young’s 25-yard free-kick and John Carew’s deft back-heel finish won the game for Villa.
   West Ham made it two league wins out of two for new manager Gianfranco Zola with a 2-1 win at London rivals Fulham, who conceded goals to Carlton Cole and Matt Etherington in quick succession at the end of the first half before losing Andy Johnson to a second yellow card.
   A Danny Murphy penalty gave Fulham hope after the break but West Ham were able to close out the match against tiring opponents.
   First-half headers from Christopher Samba and Roque Santa Cruz put Blackburn in control at St James’ Park with Michael Owen scoring a consolation effort from the spot six minutes after the break.
   ‘We can’t play as badly as we did in the first half and expect to get a result,’ Owen said afterwards before going on to admit that confidence in the Magpies dressing room was currently ‘lower than a snake’s belly.’
   A close-range strike from Swedish defender Jonas Olsson was enough to earn West Brom a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough, the club their manager Tony Mowbray served for most of his playing career. It was the Baggies’ first away win since they reclaimed their place in the top flight.

Luiz Felipe Scolari has warned that Brazilian-style football will have to wait after seeing Chelsea slug out a hard-fought 2-0 victory against Stoke.
   Jose Bosingwa’s first goal for the club and Nicolas Anelka’s second-half strike at the Britannia Stadium secured the three points and maintained Scolari’s unbeaten record since arriving at Stamford Bridge at the end of Euro 2008.
   But after being hired by Roman Abramovich to inject more flair into Chelsea, Scolari insisted that substance must come before style if the club are to win silverware.
   And with Stoke making Chelsea work for everything they earned at the Britannia, Scolari made it clear that he won’t introduce free-flowing football simply for the sake of it.
   ‘If it is possible to play beautiful football, then that is what I want to do, but the first thing we have to do is go and win the game,’ he said.
   ‘Sometimes it is difficult to play football in certain games and this game was one of those games.
   ‘Every time we made a mistake Stoke would pick up the ball and hit it long into our box, so that made it difficult for us. When one team is trying to build something and the other side just wants to hit the ball again and again, it makes it a big challenge.
   ‘But although they only created two chances, we needed the second goal from Anelka to make sure that we won the game.
   ‘It’s a positive result for us because we needed the three points. It was a very difficult game.’
   Bosingwa, a 16-million-pound buy from Porto during the close-season, rounded off a three-man move to score the opener in the first-half and Scolari insists that the Portuguese defender is one of the best in the world.
   He said: ‘Bosingwa’s goal came from a little mistake in their defence because they did not think that he would arrive in the box as he did. But he made the run and he scored a beautiful goal.
   ‘He started out as a midfielder in Portugal, but when he moved to Porto, the coach put him to right-back and it worked because he is so strong.
   ‘All the world knows him now as a very good right-back. He gets up the right side very well, but he also keeps his position well.’
   Having held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield a week ago, Stoke failed to take points off another big four club on this occasion.
   But boss Tony Pulis insisted that his players must take the positives from their performances against the Premier League’s superpowers.
   Pulis said: ‘We have now been up against Liverpool and Chelsea in successive weeks and haven’t been turned over.
   ‘It’s disappointing to lose, obviously, but we can’t allow ourselves to get down in the dumps after this.
   ‘We can’t forget that we have had a really tough start to the season. We have already played Aston Villa, Everton, Liverpool and now Chelsea.
   ‘What we have to do now is make sure that we build on these performances and take confidence from them for the rest of the season.
   ‘The second goal killed us in this game, though. Chelsea are a great side with top-class players all over the place, but until that second goal, we had a foothold.
   ‘It was like defending against the Red Arrows – or Blue Arrows – at times because they were all over the pitch!’

Arsene Wenger angrily accused Arsenal of complacency after they slid to an embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to Hull City on Saturday.
   The Frenchman could barely contain his fury at his team, whose proud unbeaten run at the Emirates – which had stretched back to April 2007 – was smashed by second-half goals from Geovanni and Daniel Cousin.
   Defeat also ensured Arsenal were denied returning to the top of the English Premier League table, which is now occupied by Chelsea, but Wenger’s main concern was his team’s approach to a game they had been expected to win at a canter.
   ‘We weren’t completely switched on to the level you need to be to win the game,’ Wenger said. ‘Human beings are not machines and perhaps subconsciously we thought we would just win it.
   ‘We were a bit careless and it was a good lesson for us. We now know that if our attitude isn’t right, we can lose games and Hull played very well, especially in defence.
   ‘You can never afford defeats but it is very concerning to lose a game like we did today. We had a good chance to go top of the league but at the end of the day, if we had had the same level of concentration as Hull we would have won the game.’
   Wenger, who had seen his team forge ahead through Paul McShane’s 50th-minute own goal, has now urged the north Londoners to bounce back from this damaging defeat against FC Porto in Tuesday’s Champions League group match.
   ‘We responded well after losing at Fulham earlier this season and now we have to have an outstanding game on Tuesday night,’ he added.
   ‘The dressing room is very shocked and quiet but that is part of mental strength, to deal with that and show how united we are.
   ‘We have to repair the damage done psychologically because this loss was unexpected. It will be difficult to swallow for us. I am confident we will respond well because the disappointment is so deep.
   ‘The overall spirit is very good. We were just caught against Hull by being too easy. That won’t happen on Tuesday because Porto are always a difficult side to play.’
   For Phil Brown, the Hull manager, this was a momentous victory, one which debunked at a stroke the theory that the best newly-promoted teams can hope for against the Premier League elite is damage limitation.
   It was also a reward for an attacking approach which saw the Tigers field two strikers – Geovanni and Marlon King – and maintained the club’s superb start to the season, which has seen them gather 11 points from six games.
   ‘We picked a team to come here and cause them problems,’ Brown said. ‘They’re a great side but we went with Geovanni because we played positively against Everton the week before.
   ‘We have a drive, an endeavour and a belief that we can come to places and get a result. We have a great group of players: we aren’t fazed by anything because we have good experience in that dressing room and good talent. I wasn’t surprised we won today.’
   Brown reserved special praise for Geovanni, whose remarkable goal – swerved into the top corner with his right boot from 25 yards – was a fair reward for a performance that buzzed with menace.

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted Manchester United enjoyed a lucky break with a penalty decision that allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to put his team on course for a 2-0 win over Bolton.
   But the Scot was still more than happy to accept his side’s good fortune and claimed it was no more than they were due from referee Rob Styles.
   The official awarded Ronaldo the penalty after the winger was tackled in the area by Jlloyd Samuel with replays clearly showing the defender won the ball fairly.
   Wayne Rooney, left out as part of Ferguson’s squad rotation policy, claimed the second goal for United – the perfect response to being left out of the starting line-up.
   But it was Styles’s glaring error that dominated post-match discussion.
   Ferguson said: ‘I was surprised. I haven’t seen it again but I was surprised because it looked to me as if their player got his foot on the ball.
   ‘Nonetheless, Rob turned down four or five for us last year so maybe we got payback today but he still owes us four! It was surprising but it was a little break.
   ‘We would have won the game okay but when teams are defending the way they did, with that determination, they are difficult to break down and you need a little break like that.
   ‘We have had some good chances in the match and played some good football at times. I think we deserved the victory.’
   Bolton manager Gary Megson was clearly fuming on the touchline and was still incensed by Styles’ officiating after the final whistle.
   ‘I can’t imagine there is any side in the world where you have to play against the likes of Berbatov, Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney and yet it was 0-0,’ said Megson. ‘Unfortunately, you can add Rob Styles to those four.
   ‘It wasn’t a penalty. At the time when it was given I didn’t think it was even close and he was contemplating booking Ronaldo for diving and that would have been wrong. It was a nonsense decision.
   ‘It sticks in the throat that last season people were talking about diving, feigning injury and technology to help referees with goal-line and penalty incidents and what do we come up with? Respect for the referee, which is quite ironic.
   ‘There would be more respect if he comes out now and says that he’s made a mistake but if he tries to justify it, then that respect will disappear anyway. But it wasn’t just the penalty incident, our first free-kick was given after 34 minutes.
   ‘When we found out he was refereeing the game on Thursday, apparently he’s got a bit of a history with Bolton and quite a few hearts sank.’
   Ferguson paid tribute to the response shown by Rooney, who scored his first goal for the club since late April after coming on as a 71st-minute substitute, and to home debutant Dimitar Berbatov.
   ‘If we get responses like that from that players we have then it’s terrific for the club,’ said the Scot. ‘It’s good for the team and everyone.
   ‘It was an excellent second goal and we played some terrific football at times. We’re still learning but when we understand how good Berbatov is then we will improve.’
   ‘You don’t need to pass to him in space all the time and he produced some great moments, his touch is fantastic at times.
   ‘I thought we played too tight in the first half, with too many six yard passes instead of spreading the game quicker. In the second half, we were more compact and had far more width in our game. It was very satisfying in the end.’

Lionel Messi scored a last-minute penalty as Barcelona defeated Espanyol 2-1 on Saturday in an incident-filled derby match that contained crowd trouble, two controversial goals and a sending off.
   Under-fire striker Thierry Henry equalised late on for Barcelona before Messi converted a penalty with virtually the last kick of the game to keep Barca three points behind leaders Villarreal.
   With ten-men Espanyol leading 1-0, referee Luis Medina temporarily stopped the match in the 69th minute after radical Barca fans threw flares at the celebrating Espanyol fans.
   The players were called off but play then resumed seven minutes later and Henry equalised four minutes after the restart.
   Espanyol had taken the lead under controversial circumstances on 19 minutes with Ferran Coro firing home after Luis Garcia appeared to foul Barca’s goalkeeper Victor Valdes causing him to drop the ball.
   With Espanyol down to ten after Nene was sent off for a stray elbow, Messi struck the winner in an indescribable derby match – the final derby match at Espanyol’s Montjuic stadium.
   Barcelona lie third, three points behind new league leaders Villarreal and go into Wednesday’s Champions League match at Shakhtar Donetsk in high spirits.
   Villarreal lead the standings after a hard-earned 1-0 win over Sporting Gijon on Saturday as they collected 13 points from a possible 15.
   Valencia can reclaim top spot with victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.
   Manuel Pellegrini’s side will now go into Tuesday’s Champions League home match against Celtic full of confidence.
   ‘In football you can’t talk about justice but good decisions and we had that and Sporting didn’t,’ said Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini. ‘At the end of the day it is these things that win you games.’
   Real Madrid sit a point behind Villarreal and two ahead of foes Barcelona after a difficult 2-1 win at Real Betis.
   Down to ten men Real needed a stoppage time winner from Ruud van Nistelrooy to rack up their fourth successive league win.
   ‘I think we deserved to win as we were superior especially in the first half when we had various opportunities apart from the goal,’ explained Real coach Bernd Schuster.
   ‘I always have faith that this team can win in the face of adversity and at the most difficult time in the match - when we had a man sent off and gave away a penalty – they knew exactly what to do.’
   Spanish international Sergio Garcia repaid Betis a chunk of his 10 million-euro transfer fee with his first goal to cancel out Gabriel Heinze’s opener but van Nistelrooy had the final say in the dying seconds.
   Real had been reduced to ten men on 54 minutes when Brazilian Marcelo conceded a penalty and deservedly got a straight red card for his foul.
   Spanish international Garcia, later sent off for a second booking, saw his spot-kick saved by international team-mate Iker Casillas but hammered home the rebound.
   Betis had chances to take all three points but Dutch striker van Nistelrooy pounced on a chance in added time to break Betis hearts.
   Real now pack their winter wear for the cold trip to Russia to face UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg in Tuesday’s Champions League group match.

David Beckham insists he is happy to stay in the shadows for England if it means Fabio Capello’s team qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
   Beckham had worked his way back into the England squad under Capello, but his days as the first choice right winger could be over after Theo Walcott’s stunning hat-trick against Croatia earlier this month.
   Walcott was selected ahead of Beckham for England’s opening two World Cup qualifiers and Capello is unlikely to make any changes for next month’s games after watching his side record back to back victories.
   That would consign Beckham to the substitutes bench but the former Manchester United and Real Madrid man, who has won 105 caps for England, is ready to do anything in his power to help Capello.
   ‘I want to be part of the squad, part of these qualifiers and, hopefully, part of the team at the World Cup,’ Beckham said.
   ‘If that means me coming on as sub or just even part
   of the squad, then I would be happy with that. I don’t care whether I play or whether I don’t.
   ‘Of course I love to play for England but the much bigger thing is England winning and England qualifying.
   ‘Whether I play is immaterial - it’s about the team, about the squad. If I can carry on getting caps, getting on the field and helping the team in any way then I’ll be happy.
   ‘I would be happy going home having not even got off the bench.
   I’m in the squad, in the manager’s mind and I’m there to support the team. I’m an England fan.’