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Chelsea squad to face Swindon in Capital One Cup, Mata set to start

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(Sporting Alert) — Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho will decide on whether to start Fernando Torres or Demba Ba in tonight’s Capital One Cup at Swindon after the pair travelled with the squad for the third round clash.

Mourinho has opted to start summer signing Samuel Eto’o since his move, but the manager is expected to give one of the above strikers a chance in the cup game.

Another player expected to start the game is Spanish international Juan Mata, who has been constantly overlooked by Mourinho since the start of the season.

He and Brazilian defender David Luiz were both left out of the squad for the English Premier League (EPL) against Fulham, but the duo are in line to feature from the start.

Mourinho says he will play a strong team, but he’s certainly expected to rest the likes of Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, John Terry, Oscar and Eden Hazard.

The likes of Michael Essien, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ryan Bertrand are all set to play.

Chelsea team (from): Cech, Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Cole, Luiz, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Bertrand, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Oscar, Mikel, De Bruyne, Van Ginkel, Hazard, Willian, Mata, Schurrle, Torres, Ba, Eto’o.

Champions League Opening Group Scores and Results – Sept. 18

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(Sporting Alert) — Jose Mourinho and Chelsea were stunned by Basel in their Champions League Group E clash at Stamford Bridge, but Arsenal and Barcelona were among the winners on Wednesday night.

Second goals from Mohamed Salah and Marco Streller helped the Swiss side from behind to upset the EPL side which went ahead on the stroke of half-time through Brazilian Oscar.

The victory was the first for Basel in England.

Schalke 04 raced to the top of group standings with an easy 3-0 win over Steaua, with Atsuto Uchida, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Julian Draxler getting the goals in the second half.

The on form Aaron Ramsey was again on target for Arsenal, which beat Marseille 2-1 in Group F at Stade Velodrome.

Theo Walcott was the other goalscorer for the Gunners, while Jordan Ayew netted a stoppage time penalty kick for Marseille.

In the other Group F game on the night, Rafa Benitez’s Napoli beat ten-man Borussia Dortmund, who had goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller sent off just before half-time in the 2-1 defeat.

Former Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain netted the opener for Napoli in the 29th minute, while Lorenzo Insigne added another in the second half.

An own goal by Camilo Zuniga got last year’s beat finalists Borussia Dortmund on the score sheet.

Elsewhere on Wednesday night Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick for Barcelona to hammer Ajax 4-0, with defender Gerard Pique grabbing the other goal for the La Liga side.

Serie A side AC Milan beat Celtic 2-0 at San Siro to join Barcelona on three points in Group H.

There were wins also for Porto, who beat Austria Vienna 1-0, while Atletico Madrid ran away 3-1 winners over Zenit St. Petersburg.

On Tuesday night, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Bayern Munich all registered victories.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid in their 6-1 thrashing of Galatasaray on the road, while Wayne Rooney scored twice for Manchester in their 4-2 Group A opening victory over Bayer Leverkusen at Old Trafford.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Wednesday Night Results

Group stage, Group E
Chelsea 1 vs. 2 Basel
Schalke 04 3 vs. 0 Steaua
Group stage, Group F
Marseille 1 vs. 2 Arsenal
Napoli 2 vs. 1 Borussia Dortmund
Group stage, Group G
Atletico Madrid 3 vs. 1 Zenit St. Petersburg
Austria Vienna 0 vs. 1 Porto
Group stage, Group H
Barcelona 4 vs. 0 Ajax
AC Milan 2 vs. 0 Celtic

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Tuesday Night Results

Group stage, Group A
Manchester United 4 vs. 2 Bayer Leverkusen
Real Sociedad 0 vs. 2 Shakhtar Donetsk
Group stage, Group B
Galatasaray 1 vs. 6 Real Madrid
FC Kobenhavn 1 vs. 1 Juventus
Group stage, Group C
Benfica 2 vs. 0 Anderlecht
Olympiakos 1 vs. 4 Paris Saint Germain
Group stage, Group D
Plzen 0 vs. 3 Manchester City
Bayern Munich 3 vs. 0 CSKA Moskva

Ronaldo, Real Madrid looking forward to face Mourinho, Chelsea – Live on FoxSoccer2Go

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MIAMI, FL (Sporting Alert) — Cristiano Ronaldo is looking forward to facing English Premier League side Chelsea in Wednesday night’s International Champions Cup Final, but the Real Madrid star has said it has nothing to do with going up against his former manager Jose Mourinho.

Watch Live on FoxSoccer2Go.com | Follow Live Football Scores

LA Galaxy v AC Milan
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International Champions Cup

Real Madrid v Chelsea
Live from 8:50 PM ET
International Champions Cup

Ronaldo and Mourinho have not seen eye-to-eye ever since the later left to the Spanish giants to rejoin Chelsea in June and many are closely monitoring their reactions in Wednesday’s game in Miami.

However, the former Manchester United forward says his main focus is to play against Chelsea, dismissing reports that he will be heading into the game with something to prove against Mourinho.

“We are going to face Chelsea, not their coach,” Ronaldo said at a press conference.

“It is another warm-up game and we hope to win it so we can start La Liga in the best manner possible.”

Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, who left PSG to take the role at the Bernabéu, has gotten off to a very start with Real Madrid, as his team has won all its warm-up games under the new manager.

Come Wednesday night Ancelotti will certainly not want to lose his first game of the preseason and in charge, against Mourinho’s Chelsea, who despite playing it cool, will be gunning to beat up on his former bosses.

Meanwhile, MLS club LA Galaxy, fresh from their win over Italian champions Juventus, will take on another Serie A side in AC Milan and the USA club is buzzing with confidence about taking down another European giants during this preseason campaign.

Chelsea vs Inter Milan: Mourinho Ready Fir Clash

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Jose Mourinho believes that tonight’s clash between his Chelsea FC side and his former club Inter Milan will be a good experience for the English Premier League.

Live Coverage is on ESPN3.com

Mourinho enjoyed two successful seasons with Inter Milan where he won the Champions League in the process and the Portugal coach is looking forward to seeing some of his former players again.

“This will be the first time I’ve seen all of them since the Champions League final,” he said on chelseafc.com.

“May 2010 was the last time I was with them and now I will go to meet them.

“There are now only six or seven players from my time there but all of the staff are fantastic. I’m very much connected with them so it will be good.

“But despite it being a friendly we all want to try to win and during the match we forget these feelings, the same way I had to forget when I played Chelsea with Inter, and that was in the Champions League, not just a friendly.”

Chelsea team: 1.Cech, 2.Ivanovic, 24.Cahill, 26.Terry (c), 3.Cole, 16.Van Ginkel, 7.Ramires, 13.Moses, 11.Oscar, 17.Hazard, 18.Lukaku.
Subs: 23.Schwarzer, 28.Azpilicueta, 34.Bertrand, 4.David Luiz, 5.Essien, 12.Mikel, 10.Mata, 9.Torres, 19.Ba.

Lionel Messi thinks “great manager” Jose Mourinho will succeed at Chelsea

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LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Barcelona forward Lionel Messi believes Jose Mourinho will bring more success to Chelsea FC after the Portugal coach left Real Madrid to return to the English Premier League club this summer.

Mourinho was very successful during his first stint with Chelsea, but after failing to win the Champions League he got the boot in 2007.

He ended up winning that crown with Serie A side Inter Milan before moving on to coach Real Madrid in 2010, where he won the Spanish La Liga crown on his second try.

Mourinho is now back in the EPL and Messi, who had his share of run-ins with the man popularly known as the “Special One” thinks he’s a “great manager” who will be very successful on his return.

“Mourinho will succeed at Chelsea because he’s a great manager,” the Argentina international said.

Messi also backs newly appointed Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti to get the best of the his team.

“Mourinho was a great coach but Ancelotti is equally great,” Messi said. “The Spanish League will continue to be difficult.”

Barcelona won back the La Liga title from Real Madrid this past season after losing the crown during the 2011-12 season.

Mourinho is back! Chelsea confirms Special One’s return on 4-year deal

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LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Chelsea have announced that Jose Mourinho has been appointed as the new manager, following the departure of Rafa Benitez at the end of the season.

Mourinho, after being away from the English Premier League for six-years, has been reappointed after being sacked during his first spell.

Chelsea announced on their website that Mourinho has been appointed on a four-year contract and returns to the club where he won two EPL titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup between 2004 and 2007.

“I am delighted to welcome Jose back to Chelsea. His continued success, drive and ambition made him the outstanding candidate,” Ron Gourlay, Chelsea FC Chief Executive said on www.chelseafc.com.

“It is our aim to keep the club moving forward to achieve greater success in the future and Jose is our number one choice as we believe he is the right manager to do just that.

“He was and remains a hugely popular figure at the club and everyone here looks forward to working with him again.”

Since leaving Chelsea, Mourinho coached Inter Milan and most recently Real Madrid.

Real Madrid v Osasuna Starting Teams and Live Score

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MADRID (Sporting Alert) — Gonzalo Higuaín and Karim Benzema both start for Real Madrid in tonight’s final Spanish La Liga game of the season against Osasuna and the last for manager Jose Mourinho.

Real Madrid v Osasuna Live Score

Rarely both players are on the field at the same time in the opening 45 minutes, but Mourinho has decided to go with two strikers at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The talking point though is the handling of Spanish captain and No. 1 Iker Casillas, who was not even included in the 17 man squad named by Mourinho.

Jesus Fernandez has been handed the starting place over Antonio Adán, who is on the bench, while Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso Pepe, Sergio Ramos and Kaka are all missing.

Mesut Özil, Luka Modric, José Maria Callejón and Ángel Di María all start tonight for Real Madrid, which have a very inexperienced bench.

Real Madrid Team
Jesus Fernandez; 11 Ricardo Carvalho, 15 Michael Essien, 17 Álvaro Arbeloa, 18 Raúl Albiol, 10 Mesut Özil, 19 Luka Modric, 21 José Maria Callejón, 22 Ángel Di María; 9 Karim Benzema, 20 Gonzalo Higuaín.
Subs: 13 Antonio Adán, 27 Nacho Fernandez, 33 Fabinho, 37 Diego Javier Llorente, 39 Omar, 29 Álvaro Morata

Osasuna Team
1 Asier Riesgo; 3 Ruben Gonzalez, 15 Oier, 19 Fernando Nano, 35 Unai García; 9 Emiliano Armenteros, 16 Alvaro Cejudo, 20 Francisco Silva, 21 Roberto Torres, 22 David Timor; 12 Joseba Llorente.
Subs: 25 Ricardo, 6 Miguel de las Cuevas, 36 Maikel Mesa, 7 Kike Sola, 18 Manuel Omwu.

Casillas left out, Ronaldo, Kaka, Pepe out too: Real Madrid squad for Osasuna visit

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MADRID (Sporting Alert) — Real Madrid outgoing boss Jose Mourinho has left Iker Casillas out of his starting team for Saturday’s final Spanish La Liga clash with Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Casillas, who was recently named in the Spanish side for this summer’s Confederations Cup, was hoping to make a return to starting team in the last game for this season after losing his place due to injury.

However, even though regular first choice Diego López unavailable because of a minor operation, Casillas was over looked by Mourinho, who opted to go with Adan.

In fact, Casillas was not even named in the squad altogether, with Mourinho calling on Jesús Fernández to act as backup for Adan.

The Portuguese boss, who is bound for Chelsea and English Premier League this summer, has received heavy criticism for his treatment on Casillas.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe, Xabi Alonso and Kaka were also missing from the 17 player squad.

The suspended Sami Khedira and Marcelo are also out.

REAL MADRID SQUAD LIST:
Goalkeepers: Adan and Jesus.
Defenders: Carvalho, Arbeloa, Albiol, Nacho, Fabinho and Llorente.
Midfielders: Ozil, Essien, Modric, Callejon, Di Maria and Omar.
Forwards: Benzema, Higuain and Morata.

Reports – Monaco willing to rival Chelsea for Jose Mourinho

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Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho wanted by Monaco?

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Monaco are lining up a bid to bring Jose Mourinho to coach the Ligue 1 side, reports in France are claiming.

The newly promoted French side has been busy this summer gathering up a list of some of the world’s most highly-rated and targeted players in an attempt to dominate the Ligue 1 and also win a place in the Champions League in the 2014/15 season.

The owners of the club have made it no secret that they intend to bring in the best players to help their cause and it now believed that Mourinho, who will leave Spanish side Real Madrid at the end of the season is also on their list.

Monaco believes that Mourinho, who at the moment is the overwhelming favourite to take over at Chelsea, has the man management skills and technical abilities to manage any squad and back his past record to help the club in succeeding even beyond its expectations.

But with the Chelsea post vacant, following the departure of Rafa Benitez, the Portugal coach, who admits he has an unbelievable love for the English Premier League and the Blues, is almost certain to return for a second stint.

Nevertheless, Monaco will continue to spend and wait to see if they can lure Mourinho into joining their project.

Another high-profiled manager on the watch list is former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini.

Jose Mourinho to leave Real Madrid, door opens for Chelsea return

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MADRID (Sporting Alert) — Jose Mourinho looks well set to join up with Chelsea next season after Real Madrid confirmed the Portuguese coach will leave the La Liga club at the end of the season.

There has been several rumours recently about the future of the Mourinho with Real Madrid and the club’s president Florentino Perez has announced they’ve parted company on mutual terms.

“The club and the manager agree that the timing is right to bring our relationship to an end,” Perez said at a press conference on Monday evening.

“On behalf of the directors, I would like to thank Jose Mourinho for his hard work over the last three years.”

It is believed that Mourinho will be heading back to the English Premier League to manage Chelsea for next season.

Mourinho, Ronaldo saw red: Real Madrid beaten 2-1 by Atletico in Copa del Rey final

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MADRID (Sporting Alert) — Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo both saw red and Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid in the final of the Spanish Copa del Rey on Friday night.

Video Highlights of Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid: Copa del Rey

Real Madrid took the lead through Ronaldo in the 14th minute when the forward headed home from a corner kick out of the reach of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

However, Atletico Madrid pulled level in the 35th as both teams went into the halftime break locked at 1-1 and the side finished regulation time all square.

Mourinho, leaving his coaching seat perhaps for the first time during the game, was sent back to the locker room just before the end of the 90-minutes.

After the interval, Real Madrid bombarded the Atletico goal with both Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil hitting the post.

Courtois also made some big saves to keep his team in the game, after defender Miranda found the back of the net with the winner eight-minutes into the first time of extra-time.

Ronaldo was then sent off for kicking out at an Atletico player, while captain Gabi also saw red for the winners.

There were 13 yellow cards handed out in total during the game.

Sports News Brief: Messi, Drogba, Mourinho all in the news

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(Sporting Alert) — The following is a list of the sporting news from yesterday’s top stories and this early morning news feeds.

Messi Out For Just A Week

Barcelona have been handed a boost, following the news that star striker and leading goalscorer Lionel Messi will only be out for a week after he picked up a thigh injury in last night’s Champions League draw at Paris St Germain. Messi scored the opening goal in the 2-2 draw, but had to be subbed out at half-time because of the injury. The Argentine international will miss this weekend’s La Liga clash with Real Mallorca, but is expected to return for the second leg of the PSG clash.

Drogba Backs Mourinho Chelsea Return

Former Chelsea player Didier Drogba is backing Jose Mourinho to return to the Barclays Premier League and to manage again at Stamford Bridge this summer. “The fans want him back. He loves Chelsea. Because you want to rebuild a team and to give them the strength we had a few years ago, he could be the right person,” Drogba said. “He is a winner and is close to the players. He went to Inter and is at Real Madrid but is still talking about Chelsea, so he loves this club.”

Beckham Still Wants To Play For England

Former England skipper David Beckham has refused to give up on the possibilities of playing for his country again. A CNN World Sport report said: “I’m almost 38 so the chances are very slight, but you never know. One of the reasons I never retired from the England team is because, if there’s ever an opportunity to play for them again, I’m available. If there is any chance of me ever playing for my country again, I would never turn that down,”

Anthony Pushes New York Past LeBron-less Miami

Star forward Carmelo Anthony scored 50 points in leading the New York Knicks to a 102-90 victory over the injury hit Miami Heat which played without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers.