METRO NAIJA

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Lahm praises Ozil creativity

Bayern Munich defender Philipp Lahm talked up Mesut
Ozil's ability before their European encounter with
Arsenal.

Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm claims Mesut Ozil sees
things nobody else can ahead of the Champions League clash
with Arsenal at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

Lahm believes his international team-mate is Arsenal's most
influential playmaker after starting the season in scintillating
form.

The World Cup-winning midfielder has provided nine assists for
the season – more than any other player in Europe's top five
leagues – and Lahm is convinced Ozil's talent is finally being
recognised in England after a slow start.

"Mesut is probably the most intelligent player I have ever played
with, he is probably the most intelligent player in Europe
today," the 31-year-old defender told The Mirror.

"Mesut sees things only he can. His vision is as good as I have
ever seen.

"It was laughable when he was being questioned after his move
to Arsenal.

"It doesn't matter how good you are, everybody needs time to
settle in a new league. Especially a league like England, where
you don’t get as much time on the ball, and of course the game
is a lot more physical.

"People don’t necessarily understand his game, he isn’t there to
run at players or even beat them, he is far more intelligent than
that.

"He finds space and creates chances for his team-mates, and
you only need to look at the assist table to understand there is
nobody better than him at that."

Arsenal surprised doubters to beat the Bundesliga giants 2-0 at
the Emirates Stadium in October in their Group F clash.

Paul Scholes has branded Ashley Young “embarrassing”
after the winger’s dive in Manchester United’s 1-0 win over
CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.

With the match goalless in the second half and United
heading for their fourth consecutive 0-0 draw, Young looked
to win a penalty after colliding with Georgy Schennikov
inside the CSKA area.

Young was not booked for simulation but Scholes believes
diving is something the midfielder is struggling to eradicate
from his game.

“Ashley needs to stop doing this,” Scholes told BT Sport .

“He knows himself he needs to stop doing this but it’s just a
habit, he can’t get rid of it.

“It’s so obvious and just needs to get it out of his game.

“It is embarrassing and he needs to get rid of it. Ashley
knows that. He’s a really good player and he doesn’t need to
resort to these tactics but I think it’s something ingrained in
him.”

Wayne Rooney's second-half header sealed a 1-0 win over
CSKA to send Louis van Gaal's side to the top of Group B.

VIDEO DOWNLOAD:-: Louis van Gaal Calls Chris Smalling "Mike" During Press Conference

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was indebted to
Chris Smalling for his performance in Tuesday's 1-0 win
against CSKA Moscow - but not quite enough to remember
the defender's name!

After Wayne Rooney's second-half goal finally delivered a
long-overdue victory for the Red Devils, the Dutchman took
time at his post-match press conference to pay tribute to
David de Gea for saving a Seydou Doumbia chance just
beforehand, as well as Smalling for a vital block.

But Van Gaal mistakenly called the England international
"Michael" as he sang his praises to the press.

"[Doumbia's chance was] the only attack of CSKA Moscow
that a player of Manchester United stepped in on the wrong
way, and then David de Gea has saved us," said the
manager. "And after that, Michael Smalling has saved us..."
It's not the first time Van Gaal has made the faux pas.
Smalling has previously been called "Mike" by the manager,
this time receiving a more formal mention.

Being part of a defence which has not conceded a goal for
nearly 500 minutes probably means that Smalling won't
mind so much about such minutiae, however!

DOWNLOAD CLIP

Nigeria U23 coach Samson Siasia believes preparing for the
African U23 championship in Morocco will be a right step
for his team as they aim to pick a ticket to Rio 2016.

The Dream Team VI will face Egypt, Algeria and Mali in
Group B when Senegal 2015 kicks off on November 28.

“Anything apart from going to Morocco for the camping
exercise will be a big disappointment towards our
preparations,” Siasia told Goal.

“We don’t have a plan B right now. We need to get out of
this place and make sure we go over there and focus very
well and prepare.

“Even though things are not working well as we want it to be
but we have to do the best we can to make sure we qualify
for the 2016 Olympics football tournament. We have to
qualify. We are bound to qualify.

Siasia also revealed that his team still lacks the goal scoring
instinct despite playing quality football but he assured that
area would be improved on before departing for Senegal.

"We are trying to play good football but we still need to
improve. The last game we played in Port Harcourt
everybody excited and very happy about how we played
even though our biggest problem is scoring,” he continued.

“That is the area we need to work on. To bring in new
players will be a difficult job again for us to make sure that
these guys can blend together like we did the last time.

“Hopefully the ones that will come in will try to catch up on
time so that we can play well, not only to play well but to
score goals too,” he concluded.

Nigeria U23 will be recalled failed to qualify for the 2012
Olympics staged in London.

Galatasaray coach Hamza Hamzaoglu is not ready to give
up on Champions League progression despite a 2-1 defeat
to Benfica.

The Turkish side won the pair's matchday three encounter in
Istanbul by the same scoreline, but were unable to replicate
that feat in Lisbon.

It leaves them three points adrift of second-placed Atletico
Madrid, who they face in their next fixture.

Another loss would eliminate them from the competition, but
the coach is still aiming to finish in the top two rather than
consolidate third place and a subsequent Europa League
berth.

"It's too early to talk about the Europa League, we have two
more games to go," Hamzaoglu said.

"Maybe it seems difficult, but I hope we will chase it. We will
play to win the next two games."

Hamzaoglu was pleased with how his team approached the
game, but felt Benfica's second goal was the decisive factor.

"We played as you should against Benfica here," he added.

"We pressed until the end but unfortunately we couldn't find
the equaliser.

"At 1-1, we were about to take some attacking steps, but the
unexpected second goal kept us at the back."

FIFAU17:-: Eaglets will beat Mexico - Bosso

Ex Nigeria U20 gaffer, Ladan Bosso has tipped the Golden
Eaglets to get past Mexico and seal a place in the final of
the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup.

Emmanuel Amuneke’s boys brushed three-time champions
Brazil 3-0 to reach this stage while El Tri beat Ecuador 2-0 in
Coquimbo.

Bosso said Golden Eaglets were splendid in their two games
and are hot favorites to book a final ticket. However, he
warned that Amuneke’s boys should maintain tactical
discipline for the remaining part of the competition if they
hope to defend their title.

“I want to assure you that the Eaglets will beat Mexico and
also win the U17 World Cup again. They have played with so
much enthusiasm and discipline and if they maintain same
till the end of the competition,
it will be hard for any of the remaining teams to beat them,”
Bosso told Goal.

“I also want to hail the impact of the highest scorer, Victor
Osimhen. He has been remarkable in Chile and I tip him to
lead Nigeria to the title.”

The game billed for the Estadio Francisco Sanchez
Rumoroso, Coquimbo will be the third meeting both teams
will be facing in the history of this competition. Manu
Garba’s boys defeated the Mexicans 6-1 and 3-0
respectively in the 2013 edition staged in the United Arab
Emirates.

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