Rolling Manchester United on the verge of hitting top form
Manchester United is optimistic ahead of a crucial period of fixtures as it is close to finding its best form, midfielder Ander Herrera said ahead of Sunday’s top of the table showdown against Premier League leader Manchester City.
United beat top four contenders Arsenal 3-1 on Saturday, thanks to goals from Jesse Lingard and Antonio Valencia along with a brilliant performance from goalkeeper David De Gea, to record its fourth consecutive league win.
“We are going to find our best moment very soon,” Herrera told the club’s website. “We are second and chasing to be top of the table.
“It was a fantastic result at Arsenal with some great performances. David was amazing, and we were clinical in the first half, with two chances in the first 15 minutes and two goals.
“Jesse is on fire now, Paul [Pogba] as well, it’s a pity he got a red card. Romelu [Lukaku] didn’t score, but he helped us a lot. The center-backs -- Victor (Lindelof) is in fantastic form right now. So we are optimistic of course.”
City is in dominant form and looks almost unstoppable as it aims to extend its 20-game winning streak across all competitions along with an eight-point Premiership lead.
United plays its final Champions League group match against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday and Herrera says the team is fully focused on sealing progression to the knockout stages rather than Sunday’s crucial league encounter.
“I’m not thinking about Sunday, now it’s about CSKA. We are not qualified yet so we don’t think about City yet,” Herrera added.
Conte backs Hazard to reach new heights at Chelsea
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has warned that playmaker Eden Hazard is yet to hit his peak at the Premier League club and backed the Belgian to become one of the best players in the world.
Hazard has been instrumental in Chelsea’s success since joining the club in 2012, scoring twice in Chelsea’s 3-1 league win over Newcastle United on Saturday to take his tally to eight goals and six assists in 18 matches across all competitions this season.
“I don’t think that Eden is at the peak of his career yet. I think he has a lot of improvement to make,” Conte told British media. LIONEL MESSI and Barcelona have the luxury of going into tonight’s final game in Group D against Sporting CP knowing that they have already claimed top spot thanks to an unbeaten opening five games in this season’s Champions League group stage.
“It’s important for him to work, work, work in every training session to improve himself and then to have this kind of performance.
“You are only at the top when you win the Ballon d’Or the first time, when you win the Champions League or when you win the World Cup. At that moment, you are a great player.”
The Italian is keen for the 26-year-old Hazard and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to sign new contracts at Chelsea.
“I will be very happy when they sign their deals. They are great players who have a lot of space for improvement and it will be great to keep them,” Conte added.
Champion Chelsea has won six of its last seven league games, the exception being a 1-1 draw at Liverpool, and sits 11 points behind leader Manchester City in third position.
Midfielder Cesc Fabregas has urged Chelsea to continue its impressive run and put pressure on City.
“It is important to get the win,” Fabregas told Chelsea TV. “It is still a long way to go and that is why we have to hope Manchester City will slip up and we will manage to put some pressure on them. They are there because they deserve it.”
Chelsea hosts Atletico Madrid in its last Champions League group game on Tuesday before traveling to relegation-threatened West Ham United in the league on Saturday.
Bayern eyes revenge against PSG
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich is out to avenge its Champions League thrashing at the hands of the Paris Saint Germain when the teams clash again in Bavaria on Tuesday, says goalkeeper Sven Ulreich.
Bayern crashed to a 3-0 defeat in Paris at the end of September, when Dani Alves, Edinson Cavani and Neymar all scored at the Parc de Princes, a result that led to the Germans firing Carlo Ancelotti and rehired Jupp Heynckes as head coach. Since then, Bayern has won 10 of its 11 games overall.
With both teams through to the last-16, Bayern needs to beat PSG by four goals at the Allianz Arena to wrest top spot in the group, but the Germans have a score to settle regardless of the result.
“Of course we want revenge, it will be difficult to win the group, but it’s about prestige and we want to show the first leg was just a slip up,” Ulreich told magazine Kicker.
Ancelotti dropped senior stars Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels from his starting lineup in Paris for the heavy away defeat.
Bayern’s hopes received a boost on Saturday as PSG suffered its first French league defeat this season, crashing 2-1 at Racing Strasbourg, while the Germans beat Hanover 96 3-1 in Munich.
“It was a very depressing evening for us in Paris, we did not play well, there wasn’t much order at the back,” said Ulreich, who took over when Manuel Neuer suffered a fractured foot in September.
“We have to put things right on Tuesday and show who we are.”
“The Champions League, against PSG, in front of a sold-out crowd in Munich – these are the games you dreamed about as a little boy.”
(Reuters)