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Madrid equalled Barcelona's Spanish record with a win against Granada

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Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane urged his side to maintain their momentum after they equalled Barcelona's Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten against Granada. Isco scored twice, with Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro also on the scoresheet in Saturday's 5-0 La Liga cruise. Madrid have not been beaten since April, when they were on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline in the Champions League quarter-final first leg to Wolfsburg. Zidane's men can set a new mark if they avoid defeat to Sevilla next Sunday, but the former France international accepts it will be a tough challenge for his in-form side. Zidane said: "It's satisfying to match this record but the main thing is what we are doing out on the pitch. We now have another game against Sevilla to play and I know we'll be up against it. We know no limits and will do all we can to keep this performance up. "We have to show it in each game. Every competition is important and we do not...

Late Giroud strike downs Preston

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Arsenal captain Olivier Giroud struck late to send his side into the FA Cup fourth round with a 2-1 win at Preston North End on Saturday night. The Premier League side had to do it the hard way against their Sky Bet Championship opposition, coming from behind at Deepdale following Callum Robinson's seventh-minute opener. Preston squandered several clear-cut chances to add a second and were punished when Aaron Ramsey equalised a minute after half-time. And Giroud, who scored a dramatic leveller against Bournemouth on Tuesday night, repeated the trick, bundling home from Lucas Perez's neat back-heel. There was more good news for Arsenal as Danny Welbeck made his first appearance for eight months, replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the closing stages. Arsene Wenger made five changes from the draw at Bournemouth, leaving Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil at home and handing the armband to Giroud. Preston, meanwhile, made three changes and ...

New defender not needed, Jose Mourinho

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Jose Mourinho says he is not planning to sign a new defender in January despite the departure of Eric Bailly to the Africa Cup of Nations. United have been linked with moves for Southampton's Jose Fonte and Victor Lindelof of Benfica. But, with Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo fit and playing well, Mourinho does not think he will need to do any business. "No, I wait for Bailly," said Mourinho when asked if he would be shopping for another defender. "I hope the three can control the situation in those eight matches. "I will try to rest one in every game. On Saturday [against Reading in the FA Cup] I will rest one, against Hull [in Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg] another. "We'll try to make a rotation between these three. We still have Daley Blind as the fourth, in case we need him to play there. We have Michael Carrick, so let's try." United are sixth in the Premier League standings but are hot on the heels...

West Ham out of FA cup after a huge loss to City

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Pep Guardiola enjoyed his FA Cup bow as Man City thrashed West Ham United 5-0 in their third-round clash at the London Stadium on Friday night. The visitors led 3-0 at half-time thanks to strikes by Yaya Toure, via the penalty spot, a Havard Nordtveit own goal and David Silva. However, things got even worse for the Hammers in the second half as further efforts from Sergio Aguero - his 18th goal in all competitions this season - and John Stones rounded off the scoring for City. As a result, it will be City's name in the hat for the fourth-round draw on Monday, while Slaven Bilic and Co can now concentrate on trying to rise up the Premier League table. The West Ham boss made three changes from the side that lost 2-0 at home to Manchester United at the start of the week, with Adrian replacing Darren Randolph in goal, and there were also starts for Andy Carroll and Edimilson Fernandes in place of Dimitri Payet and the Africa Cup of Nations-bound Cheikhou Kouyate. His oppos...

Why FA fined Chelsea and City

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Chelsea were fined £100,000 for a mass player confrontation despite claims their "culture changed" under manager Antonio Conte, the Football Association has revealed. An independent commission has disclosed why Chelsea and Manchester City were fined following a fracas on the pitch last month, in written reasons published by the FA. Both clubs admitted a charge for failing to control their players in added time of the Premier League game on December 3 last year, but requested a personal hearing with the commission. Chelsea won 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium, with Manchester City's Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero sent off during the fracas. Chelsea were fined £100,000 and City sanctioned £35,000 for the same incident. "The commission was not unanimous as to which party actually caused the mass confrontation," ruled the panel, chaired by Gareth Farrelly. "There was considerable deliberation as to whether the Sergio Aguero tackle [on David Luiz, which led...

Guardiola backs Claudio Bravo

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Pep Guardiola has no doubt goalkeeper Claudio Bravo can establish himself in the Premier League. The Chilean has had a mixed start at Manchester City since England number one Joe Hart was jettisoned by manager Guardiola earlier in the season. Bravo, signed from Barcelona for £15.4m to replace Hart in August, was brought in on the basis of his superior footwork but some other areas of his goalkeeping have attracted criticism. This was further fuelled - although City claimed there was a foul - as the 33-year-old missed a cross prior to a Burnley goal at the Etihad Stadium on Monday. Guardiola says Bravo does not need other people to tell him how to do his job and is confident he will settle. "He's intelligent enough, he has experience enough, he was nominated one of the five best keepers in the world," said Guardiola. "He has experience in Europe, all around the world, in South America, where the intensity of the games is so tough there. Guardiola insi...

All my players cares, Arsene Wenger

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says the rest of his squad were just as upset as Alexis Sanchez about the failure to beat Bournemouth on Tuesday. The Gunners came back from 3-0 down to snatch a remarkable 3-3 draw at the Vitality Stadium but Sanchez cut a frustrated figure after the game, as Arsenal's title bid continues to stutter. It was reported on Thursday that the Chilean international was silent in the dressing room after the match, while his team mates celebrated their dramatic comeback. However, Wenger says Sanchez's reaction was a reflection of how the whole squad felt. "They care as much as he does, don't worry," said the experienced French boss. "Everybody has his way. "The players are frustrated. There was no celebration in the dressing room, everybody was disappointed that they didn't win the game. "There is no hierarchy of intensity of desire to win at that level. Everybody wants to win." Arsene Wenger dismisses ...