Mourinho: The best team lost

Jose Mourinho has pointed the finger at the Newcastle ball boys after seeing Chelsea lose their unbeaten record this season and added: "The best team lost".

After a bright start at St James' Park, Chelsea struggled to assert their authority and Newcastle established a two-goal lead through Papiss Cisse's 57th and 78th minute-strikes.

Chelsea threatened a comeback when Steven Taylor received a second yellow card on 81 minutes and Didier Drogba then headed home from Cesc Fabregas' free kick, but the hosts - who had to field debutant goalkeeper Jak Alnwick for the second half - held on for a memorable win.

"We were unlucky," said Mourinho. "The best team lost. The team that tried to win lost. That's football.

"It's the kind of defeat that's easy to accept - we were unlucky. We conceded goals the only time they crossed the line."

Mourinho, who has never won at Newcastle in the Premier League, said the ball boys had made it difficult for his side.

"We wanted to play more football but it was not possible because a few things I thought didn't belong any more to top-level football but still belongs - the ball disappeared, the ball doesn't come, another ball comes, the ball boys run away - these kind of situations that unfortunately are still part of the game. But no complaints," he said.

He stressed that he did not blame his players for the result.

"My players tried everything. I have no complaints," he said. "Congratulations to Newcastle. That's it. I would be disappointed if the first defeat arrived with a referee mistake or my team being complacent, but we were unlucky.

"The goals were strange rebounds and bounces. We were just unlucky. That's crystal clear. One day we will be lucky."

It was Newcastle's third successive league win at home against Chelsea, and Alan Pardew hailed his side's display.

"That was about character [and] discipline against the best team in probably Europe at the moment," Pardew told BT Sport. "At the start of the game I felt we stood off them a little bit and [Eden] Hazard was getting a lot of joy but we stuck at it and we were always a threat on the break."

Blues beaten, Arsenal stunned

Chelsea's unbeaten start to the Premier League season came to an end as Newcastle ran out 2-1 winners at St James' Park, while Stoke stunned Arsenal 3-2.

Papiss Cisse was the hero of St James' Park with goals on 57 and 78 minutes, and the home side did well to hang on in the closing stages after Steven Taylor was dismissed. 

Didier Drogba scored with seven minutes remaining but Newcastle held on well to claim the points to end Chelsea's unbeaten record and move into seventh place

Arsenal's poor record at Stoke City continued as they were beaten 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at the Britannia Stadium.

The Gunners appeared set for a heavy defeat when Bojan (35) and Jon Walters (45) added to a Peter Crouch goal inside 20 seconds for Mark Hughes' men.

Bojan thought he had a fourth, only to see it ruled out, and Arsenal staged a late rally with Santi Cazorla scoring from the spot on 68 and Aaron Ramsey grabbing a second two minutes later.

Arsenal had Calum Chambers dismissed for a second yellow card but continued to pile on the pressure, only to see their rally fall short.

Charlie Austin had a mixed day for QPR in their 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Burnley, scoring one of their goals before being sent off against his former side.

Leroy Fer gave Harry Redknapp's side the lead on 51 and Austin made it 2-0 on 74, moments before he saw red for catching Michael Keane with a flailing arm.

Goals were hardly the order of the day in the other three 3pm kick-offs with Hull City, West Brom, Liverpool, Sunderland, Tottenham and Crystal Palace all coming up blank.

Allan McGregor was the hero for Hull City as he saved a Graham Dorrans penalty in their 0-0 draw withWest Brom at the KC Stadium.

Dorran was afforded the chance for the struggling Baggies in the ninth minute but McGregor made the right decision to dive to his left and deny the Scotsman a goal.

Liverpool's brief winning run came to an end as they were held 0-0 by Sunderland in a game most at Anfield will want to forget.

Barely a shot on target was registered in the 90 minutes but Sunderland were left to rue a couple of golden wasted chances, Wes Brown heading over from close range and Jordi Gomez forcing a decent save from Simon Mignolet.

And a few boos rang out at the end of proceedings at White Hart Lane where Roberto Soldado wasted a series of chances in Tottenham's 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.

Spurs have struggled all season on home turf and Palace came closest to a goal in the second half when Jason Puncheon's eight-yard effort crashed off the underside of the crossbar - the same player was also denied a goal by an offside flag.

Robben warns Guardiola: Don't start rotating me

Arjen Robben has warned Pep Guardiola not to start rotating him as he believes his best form for Bayern Munich comes with consistent game-time.

The Dutch winger, 30, has been in arguably the form of his life during the past 18 months, having scored the winner in the 2012-13 Champions League final before leading Bayern to four trophies last season and Netherlands to third place at the World Cup.

However, competition for places in the Bayern set-up is strong with Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze and Xherdan Shaqiri all capable of playing out wide for Guardiola.

The former Barcelona boss felt his players were suffering from fatigue in their narrow win over Hertha Berlin but Robben is adamant that he does not need to be rested from first-team duties.

"Rotation is be for me," he told Kicker. "I need this constant rhythm, I grow stronger and my flow comes from playing all of the time.

"I just need a break in between games, however, as that helps the mind and body recover."

Guardiola's side have soared clear in the Bundesliga title race this season after claiming the prize in record time in 2013-14, and Robben is eager to stay with the club as long as possible in order to work with the man he believes to be football's best tactician.

"Guardiola, for me, is tactically the best in the world," Robben added. "He is a perfectionist.

"The advantage this season is that we no longer have to get used to each other us. This season we have improved in possession and we have more peace of mind.

"Guardiola works very hard, he prepares us superbly. Guardiola understands where spaces in the field open up. That's what he had as a player, too.

"My contract is valid until 2017 and as long as he's here I want to work with him."

Bayern face third-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday as they look to maintain their seven-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

Didier Drogba: Jose Mourinho says Chelsea will retain striker

The 36-year-old Drogba, in his second spell at the club, scored as Chelsea beat Tottenham 3-0 on Wednesday. 

"The important thing is he is here and will finish his career with Chelsea," said Mourinho, whose team top the Premier League by six points.

Mourinho added: "It looks, for me, that he's going to stay doing other things when he finishes his career."

Drogba won 10 trophies in his first spell at Chelsea between 2004 and 2012, and scored 157 goals in 341 games. He rejoined the club at the start of the season after leaving Turkish side Galatasaray.

Since returning to Stamford Bridge, the Ivorian has netted five times and set up Eden Hazard's opener against Spurs.

The league leaders are now unbeaten in 23 games in all competitions, equalling a club record.

"It's remarkable," said Mourinho, when asked about Drogba's displays. "First of all, he's a team player. He's not selfish, not vain. He's a humble guy who plays for the team, fights for the team. He's fantastic.

"I was expecting exactly this. I played against him at Real Madrid and I could feel the kind of potential he still has."

Mourinho also confirmed Gary Cahill suffered no lasting damage after the defender was substituted at half-time against Tottenham following an earlier clash of heads with Jan Vertonghen.

"No concussion, no need for special care," Mourinho said. "He was just feeling maybe afraid of heading the ball."

Sergio Aguero has revealed he will try and convince compatriot Lionel Messi to move to the Premier League.

The Barcelona star and four-time Ballon d'Or winner has been linked with a move away from Camp Nou afterhe claimed he did not know what the future had in store for him.

Messi has previously stated that he would love to retire at the Liga club, but his recent comments have since thrown that into doubt

Aguero's club Manchester City have been among those linked with a possible move for 27-year-old, with Goal revealing that the Premier League champions went on a charm offensive when they hosted the Argentina national side in November.

And Aguero himself admitted he would love for his fellow countryman to move to the Premier League, though he realises it will be difficult to persuade him.

"It's a tough ask. I'll try and convince him," he said after winning the Football Supporters' Federation Player of the Year award.

"You want the best players to be playing in the Premier League. I'll certainly try and convince him."

Jose Mourinho: It is 'impossible' for Chelsea to match Arsenal's unbeaten season

CHELSA manager Jose Mourinho believes going a full Premier League season unbeaten is impossible.

The Blues are yet to lose after 13 games of the campaign and are in sight of replicating Arsenal's 'Invincibles' class of 2003/04.

They have drawn just three league ties all campaign - including 1-1 results at Manchester City and Manchester United - winning the other 10.

And Mourinho outlined his desire to continue winning games rather than battle out draws ahead of Chelsea's clash with Tottenham tonight.

He said: "One thing is that I don't think it's possible (to complete a season unbeaten). The other thing is that we are not playing for that.

"If (against Spurs) we have a 0-0 with 20 minutes to go, we are not going to play for the 0-0 to be undefeated after 21 matches. No way.

"If you play for that, if that is one objective, maybe you draw so many matches, you don't take risks to try and win matches. You are happy just to be undefeated.

"If you get 10 draws, you get 10 points. If you win five and lose five, you make 15 points.

"We are going to play matches to win. And, sometimes, we will lose.

"I'd prefer 15 points and lost matches than 10 points and being undefeated."

Arsenal drew 12 of their 38 fixtures in the 2003/04 season.

Who Should Win “Coach of the Year”?

Below is a statistics comparison in the year 2014 between the 3 coaches shortlisted for FIFA’s Coach of the Year award: Carlo Ancelotti, Diego Simeone, and Joachim Loew. Ancelotti’s 3 main points going for him to win the award is the Champions League win (of course) which he achieved in dominating fashion, the fact that he’s likely to finish the year with 4 titles as Real Madrid compete for the Club World Cup in December, and the fact that he is the only coach in Real Madrid history to win 16 matches in a row. Joachim Loew’s sole and perhaps most important claim out of all the 3 coaches was quite simple the World Cup. The biggest prize in world football is the World Cup and Loew achieved it in scintillating fashion with a Germany side that was compact, entertaining, consistent, and most of all deserving of the title. Diego Simeone’s claim rests on the simple fact that he carried Atletico, a team that wasn’t even a ‘major player’ on the European scene, to the La Liga title over both Real Madrid and Barcelona. He also orchestrated their path to the Champions League final where they were just 2 minutes away from winning it, and finally the Supercopa win earlier this season vs Real Madrid.

All 3 of these coaches are very deserving of the award but who will get it? This statistical comparison included below isn’t a definit answer to that question but it may help you compare the 3 coaches statistics in the calendar year of 2014.

Fifteen forwards shortlisted for FIFA FIFPro World XI

FIFPro, the worldwide players’ union, and FIFA today announced the 15 forwards shortlisted for the FIFA FIFPro World XI 2014 (see list below) to complete the final 55-player shortlist. After the unveiling of the five goalkeepers, 20 defenders and 15 midfielders who made the shortlist, the 15 forwards to be added to it are now also known.

The FIFA FIFPro World XI is decided by the players, for the players. It involves votes from tens of thousands professional footballers worldwide. They select one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards.FIFPro and its national affiliates are responsible for gathering votes from professional footballers worldwide. It is the only global award that truly represents the views of those who play the beautiful game. For more information on the voting procedure can be found on the FIFPro website.

The forward shortlist is: (home country / club)

Sergio Aguero (Argentina / Manchester City FC)
Gareth Bale (Wales / Real Madrid CF)
Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid CF)
Diego Costa (Spain / Chelsea FC)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal / Real Madrid CF)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden / Paris Saint-Germain FC)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern München)
Lionel Messi (Argentina / FC Barcelona)
Thomas Muller (Germany / FC Bayern München)
Neymar (Brazil / FC Barcelona)
Marco Reus (Germany / Borussia Dortmund)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands / FC Bayern München)
Franck Ribery (France / FC Bayern München)
Wayne Rooney (England / Manchester United FC)
Luis Suarez (Uruguay / FC Barcelona)

The final FIFA FIFPro World XI will then be announced at the FIFA Ballon d’Or award ceremony at the Kongresshaus in Zurich on 12 January 2015. During the televised ceremony, the winner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the best player of 2014 and the winner of the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2014 award will also be revealed, while the FIFA World Coach of the Year awards for men’s and women’s football will be presented for the fifth time. The FIFA Puskás Award for the best goal of the year, the FIFA Presidential Award, and the FIFA Fair Play Award will also be presented during the award ceremony.

Brahimi named African Footballer of the Year

The Algeria star paid tribute to his club and country after being handed the award on Monday

Porto star Yacine Brahimi has been named 2014 BBC African Footballer of the Year.

The midfielder came out on top of the voting on the back of his displays Algeria, who he helped to the last-16 of the World Cup for the first time, as fans from 207 Fifa-registered countries placed their votes.

Brahimi saw off competition from Nigeria star Vincent Enyeama, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang of Gabon, and Ivory Coast duo Yaya Toure - who was last year's winner - and Gervinho.

"It's a great honour for me to receive this award," he told Porto's official website.

"I want to dedicate the award to Algeria and all of the other African nations. 2014 has been a great year for me and now I will strive to evolve and win trophies for my club Porto."

Brahimi began 2014 in La Liga with Granada, with his performances alerting the Portuguese giants, who promptly sealed a reported €6.5 million deal for the player in July.

Since arriving in Portugal, the 24-year-old has scored six goals in 15 appearances, including a hat-trick in his side's opening Champions League group stage clash with BATE Borisov.

"I have to thank my new club, the players playing with me, the coach and the staff," he added.

Brahimi becomes the first Algerian player to be named African Footballer of the Year and joins an illustrious band of elite names who have lifted the famous prize.

The likes of George Weah, Jay-Jay Okocha, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o are all previous winners, with the trophy adding to another award he received last month, naming him the best African Player in Spain in 2013/14.

Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez eyes first-choice football after Real Madrid snub permanent deal

Javier Hernandez admits he needs first-team football next season.

Real Madrid turned down the services ‘Chicharito’ on a permanent deal with the Mexican striker making ten appearances for the club this season on loan from Manchester United.

Now the Mexican striker is focusing on delivering for the European Champions until May, but has his sights set on more playing time next season.

‘I am fully concentrated on Real Madrid at the moment,’ Hernandez said.

‘We have a big chance to have a really successful season - and when you are fighting for La Liga and The Champions League it is not sensible to concentrate on anybody else.’

Hernandez caught the eye of both Liverpool and Spurs during the summer transfer window, but opted for a glamour temporary switch to the Bernabeu after failing to secure a regular role at Old Trafford.

And the Mexican says he now needs assurances that he will be first choice.

He said: ‘I am not sure what will happen in the summer yet - but whatever happens I need guarantees. I am 26 now - in the summer I will be 27 - I must be at a club where I am going to be playing regularly.

‘Wherever I am playing next season - I will make sure I have those sort of assurances.’

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi & Manuel Neuer on Ballon d'Or list

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer have been named on a three-man shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or prize, Fifa has announced.

The three were chosen from an initial 23-man list, which included Gareth Bale, and the world player of the year award will be announced on 12 January.

Nadine Kessler (Germany), Marta (Brazil) and Abby Wambach (USA) were shortlisted for the women's award.

Real Madrid forward Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or in 2013.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, Germany's World Cup winning boss Joachim Low and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone are on the shortlist for the Fifa coach of the year.

Portugal international Ronaldo 29, scored 51 goals in the 2013-14 season while helping Real Madrid win the Champions League.

He beat Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery and Barcelona's Messi to the 2013 award.

Four-time winner Messi, 27, won the honour in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Borussia Dortmund drop to bottom of Bundesliga after Frankfurt loss

It is really a bad time to be a Dortmund fan.

Last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund dropped to last place in the Bundesliga on Sunday after their 2-0 loss at Eintracht Frankurt as VfL Wolfsburg tightened their hold on second spot.

Beleaguered Dortmund hit the woodwork and wasted a host of chances in a largely one-sided game but could do nothing to come back from a fifth-minute goal by Bundesliga top scorer Alexander Meier, who took his tally to eight.

Dortmund instantly took control after the setback but missed chance after chance with Henrikh Mkhitaryan failing twice to score from a clear position.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s shot in the 24th minute was blocked by goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald and Kevin Grosskreutz’s rebound shook the post.

Dortmund, Bundesliga champions in 2011 and 2012, could not even score when coach Jürgen Klopp, who will surely start to feel some pressure after years of success, brought on a second striker in Adrián Ramos with the Colombian wasting his share of opportunities.

Instead it was Frankfurt who benefited from yet another defensive error, a mix-up between Matthias Ginter and keeper Roman Weidenfeller, with the defender heading into the path of Haris Seferovic for a simple tap-in.

Dortmund’s eighth loss in 13 league games continued their domestic freefall this season, dropping the 2013 Champions League finalists to last place on 11 points.

Wolfsburg outmuscled direct rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0 earlier on Sunday to go three points clear in second place and keep leaders Bayern Munich in sight.

Ronaldo: Time for Neymar to become world's best

It is no news that Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the best footballers in the world today,both have broken world records and do not look like they are quitting the sport anytime soon. However,Neymar has been another player waxing strong and has been urged to wax stronger by Ronaldo (Brazil).

Brazil legend Ronaldo has told Neymar that the time has come for him to step up and take on Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for the title of best player in the world.

Real Madrid forward Ronaldo and Barcelona's Messi have had a duopoly on the Ballon d'Or over the past six years that is expected to continue into 2015, even though Neymar shone at the 2014 World Cup before an injury killed his and Brazil's hopes of glory.

However, the now-retired Ronaldo - who won the Ballon d'Or twice, in 1997 and 2002 - has called on his 22-year-old compatriot to start taking strides towards becoming the greatest footballer on the planet.

"It's about time Neymar assumed the position of best player in the world," Ronaldo told Brazilian newspaperFolha de Sao Paulo.

"Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are the best at this time, but Neymar has improved."

Meanwhile, the former Inter, Barca and Real Madrid striker acknowledged that the Selecao are currently in a period of transition, with former superstars such as Kaka and Robinho having gone from world-beaters to big-money flops in a short space of time.

Consequently, he is desperately hoping that Neymar and Brazil's current crop of exciting youngsters do not suffer the same problems in the future.

"Neymar's transfer to Europe has done him a lot of good," Ronaldo mused. "Brazil as a nation, though, is going through a difficult time in every way in administrative terms and in finding talent.

"We have many great players. We live in the hope that Neymar, who is excellent, will become the best in the country, but there have been many times when others with a lot of talent did not make the step up for Brazil.

"For various reasons, the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Adriano and Robinho failed to transfer their talent from my generation to Neymar's."

Ronaldo added that the World Cup 2014 hosts are "hurting" after their semi-final and third-place play-off humiliations to Germany and Netherlands, respectively, but that they can use that pain to drive them on the road to redemption.

On the back of the Selecao responding to this summer's failures with six successive wins, Ronaldo said: "We want to use those memories [from the World Cup] in our favour."

Supporter dies after rival fans clash before game in Madrid

Will hooliganism ever stop amongst football fans?
This is the consequence of rascality and if football fans don't come to embrace this sport for what it truly is,then results like this will continue to rise.

 A supporter died after violent clashes between fans before Atletico Madrid's home match against Deportivo La Coruna.

The unnamed Deportivo fan, 43, was taken out of a river near Atletico's Vincente Calderon Stadium suffering from cardiac arrest, hypothermia and head injuries and died in hospital.

Eleven other people were treated for mostly minor injuries, including a female police officer.

Twenty people were taken into custody with 100 troublemakers identified.

The violence near the stadium was condemned by both clubs and the Spanish league.

Atletico president Enrique Cerezo, speaking before the death of the supporter was announced, told Spanish television: "I want to say that this has nothing to do with football.

The above image shows Deportivo supporters been escorted away from the Vincente Calderon Stadium following the clashes.

"These are radical groups who meet up and these are the consequences."

Deportivo president Tino Fernandez said clubs needed to do more to make sure such incidents were not allowed to happen.

He added: "It's tragic news. I want to express our vehement opposition to violence."

Atletico Madrid won the match 2-0 to record their fifth win in six games and move within four points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

Saul Niguez headed the defending champions in front in the 43rd-minute before Arda Turan sealed victory 10 minutes into the second half.

The win took Atletico into second place in the table before Barcelona's evening kick-off away to Valencia.