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Oribe Peralta fires Mexico to World Cup Group A win over Cameroon

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Oribe Peralta of Mexico celebrates scoring against Cameroon. PHOTO: Zimbio

(SportingAlert.com) — Oribe Peralta continued his good goalscoring touch for Mexico after he netted the lone goal in his team’s 1-0 win over Cameroon in their Fifa World Cup Group A opener at the Arena das Dunas Friday.

Peralta, who got the start over Javier Hernandez, scored what turned out to be the winning goal after he pounced first on a loose ball to knock it past Charles Itandje on the hour mark.

Mexico also had a goal disallowed in the first half after Giovani dos Santos was called for an offside.

Replays showed that the forward was not and goal should have stood.

In the second half, Miguel Layun found an unmarked Hernandez in a perfect position inside the six-yard box in the closing minutes to make it 2-0, but the Manchester United forward fired over the cross bar.

The victory for Mexico over the African side, now sees the CONCACAF team joining hosts Brazil at the top of Group A with three-points from the opening games.

Cameroon failed to get their offense going, with captain Samuel Eto’o getting little support in front of the goal.

Croatia, the other team in the group and Cameroon are sitting at the bottom without a point.

Mexico v Cameroon

Mexico: Ochoa, Layun, Moreno, Marquez, Rodriguez, Aguilar, Guardado, Vazquez, Herrera, Giovani, Peralta. Subs: Corona, Salcido, Reyes, Fabian, Jimenez, Pulido, Hernandez, Ponce, Brizuela, Aquino, Pena, Talavera

Cameroon: Itandje, Djeugoue, N’Koulou, Chedjou, Assou-Ekotto, Song, Mbia, Enoh, Moukandjo, Eto’o, Choupo-Moting. Subs: Feudjou, Nounkeu, Aboubakar, Makoun, Bedimo, Webo, Fabrice, Salli, Matip, Nyom, N’Djock

Referee: Wilmar Roldan Perez (Colombia)

ESPN3/WatchESPN: Mexico v Cameroon Live Streaming

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(SportingAlert.com) — As expected, Javier Chicharito Hernandez is only on the bench for Mexico, while Samuel Eto’o leads the attack for Cameroon in the World Cup Group A opener at Arena das Dunas this afternoon.

Hernandez has been struggling to find his best form this season and Mexico head coach Miguel Herrera said the Manchester United forward would start on the bench on Friday.

Leading the attack for the CONCACAF side are Giovani Dos Santos and Oribe Peralta, while Rafael Márquez leads things from the back.

Guillermo Ochoa starts over José Corona in goal, with Carlos Salcido, Isaac Brizuela and Marco Fabián all on the bench alongside Chicharito.

For Cameroon, veteran forward Eto’o will lead his country and the Chelsea forward, who is expected to leave in the summer, will be the main goalscoring threat for the African side.

Maxim Choupo-Moting, Benjamin Moukandjo, Alex Song, Stéphane M’bia and Benoît Assou-Ekotto all start for Cameroon this afternoon.

Live Streaming Coverage is on ESPN3.com and WatchESPN. Live TV Channel Is ESPN

Mexico v Cameroon

Mexico: Ochoa, Layun, Moreno, Marquez, Rodriguez, Aguilar, Guardado, Vazquez, Herrera, Giovani, Peralta. Subs: Corona, Salcido, Reyes, Fabian, Jimenez, Pulido, Hernandez, Ponce, Brizuela, Aquino, Pena, Talavera

Cameroon: Itandje, Djeugoue, N’Koulou, Chedjou, Assou-Ekotto, Song, Mbia, Enoh, Moukandjo, Eto’o, Choupo-Moting. Subs: Feudjou, Nounkeu, Aboubakar, Makoun, Bedimo, Webo, Fabrice, Salli, Matip, Nyom, N’Djock

Referee: Wilmar Roldan Perez (Colombia)

Eto’o starts; Chelsea v PSG Champions League Live

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LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Samuel Eto’o is a surprised starter for Chelsea in tonight’s crucial Champions League quarter-final second tie with Paris St Germain at Stamford Bridge.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL SECOND LEG
Live Radio Streaming Coverage Here
Place: Stamford Bridge
Date: Tuesday, 8 April
Kick-off: 2:45 EST
TV Channels Live Streaming Coverage: FoxSoccer2Go.com, SiriusXM FC, BBC Radio 5 live, Fox Sports 1 USA, TEN Sports India, beIN Sports Arabia, UTV, TV3 Ireland, TEN Sports LIVE, UTV, STV Scotland, ITV 1, SuperSport Africa

Eto’o, who was doubtful for the game after picking up a hamstring injury which forced him to missed the last three games, including the first leg 3-1 defeat in Paris, will lead the attack after recovering from the injury.

He comes into the Chelsea starting line-up in place of Andre Schurrle, who is on the bench along with Fernando Torres and Demba Ba.

England midfielder Frank Lampard replaces the suspended Ramires, while there are starts as well for David Luiz, who will play alongside Lampard, with Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard supporting Eto’o.

PSG will be missing Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who misses the game with a hamstring injury.

This means Edinson Cavani will come off the wing and play a more center forward role, while Lucas Moura comes in for Ibrahimovic.

Chelsea v PSG

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Lampard, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Eto’o. Subs: Schwarzer, Cole, Torres, Mikel, Schurrle, Ba, Kalas.

PSG: Sirigu, Jallet, Alex, Thiago Silva, Maxwell, Verratti, Thiago Motta, Matuidi, Lucas Moura, Cavani, Lavezzi. Subs: Douchez, Cabaye, Marquinhos, Menez, Digne, Van Der Wiel, Pastore.

Referee: Pedro Proenca (Portugal)

Eto’o could be on the bench: Chelsea v PSG Champions League quarter-final 2nd leg TV Channels

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LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Jose Mourinho is set to start with Fernando Torres in his attack, while Samuel Eto’o could be on the bench for Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final second leg clash with the visiting Paris St Germain.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL SECOND LEG
Place: Stamford Bridge
Date: Tuesday, 8 April
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
TV Channels Live Streaming Coverage: FoxSoccer2Go.com, SiriusXM FC, BBC Radio 5 live, Fox Sports 1 USA, TEN Sports India, beIN Sports Arabia, UTV, TV3 Ireland, TEN Sports LIVE, UTV, STV Scotland, ITV 1, SuperSport Africa

Torres and the rest of his striking-mates have been heavily criticized this season by Mourinho, who believes his forwards have let him down thus far in this campaign.

However, with Chelsea needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit after losing the first-leg tie in Paris, Mourinho is ready to try with Torres in the attack again, hoping this time he can find some form in front of the net.

Eto’o has been recovering from his hamstring problem and Mourinho is not ruling out using the Cameroon international at some point during the game.

Coming back from a two-goal deficit will not be easy against PSG, but Mourinho says they are all believers.

“I believe and my players believe and that’s the most important thing,” the Chelsea boss said.

“If Paris are knocked out (Tuesday) it will be a big disappointment for them; if we are knocked out then it is something that a lot of people are expecting.

“We have to enjoy the risk of the situation. At 9.30pm [UK time] we can be out, and we know that. But at 7.45pm we have chances to be in the semi-final. So at 7.45pm we have to be ready, with smiles on our faces, to go out and see what happens – but at 7.45pm we believe we can do it.”

In other Chelsea news, Brazilian midfielder Ramires is suspended and will not feature, while Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah are both cup-tied and are ineligible. Marco van Ginkel could be on the bench.

For PGS, in the meantime, leading striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss the game because of a hamstring injury sustained in the first leg at the Parc des Princes last week.

This means that Edinson Cavani will now play through the middle as the center forward and he could very cause the same kind of problems as Ibrahimovic.

Paris St-Germain v Chelsea Live TV Channels, Scores and More

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PARIS (Sporting Alert) — Jose Mourinho is set to start striker Fernando Torres in Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final first leg clash at Paris St-Germain on Wednesday night.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL FIRST LEG
Venue: Parc des Princes
Date: Wednesday 2 April
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Live TV Channels and Streaming: BBC Radio 5 Live, SiriusXM FC, Sky Sports 1, SuperSport, Fox Soccer 2Go.com, Fox Sports 1 USA, Fox Sports GO, beIN Sports Arabia, True Sport, RTE 2, TEN Sports

Experienced forward Samuel Eto’o, who has been favoured by Mourinho in the big games, did not travel with the English Premier League side to Paris after failing to recover from the a hamstring injury he suffered early in the 6-0 win over of Arsenal last month, while Demba Ba has struggled to get into the team.

This means that Torres will likely lead the attacking line at Parc des Princes.

Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah are both ineligible after representing Benfica and Basle in the group stages of the competition.

PSG claims they are the underdogs coming into this tie, but Mourinho not buying it.

He said: “Paris has a team full of fantastic attacking players, not to mention the other ones. I could speak for hours about Thiago [Motta].

“I watch a lot of Paris matches, and Laurent Blanc has a clear philosophy. They keep the same philosophy, even when they change three midfielders, like against Bayer Leverkusen in the [round of 16] second leg.”

Chelsea will need to keep a close eye on leading striker Zlatan Ibrahimović and striker partners Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi, attacking players Mourinho reveals will make the difference at this stage of the competition.

Follow Live Galatasaray v Chelsea Live Commentary

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ISTANBUL (Sporting Alert) — Fernando Torres has been handed the starting place for Chelsea and will lead the attack in the Champions League against Galatasaray.

Follow Live Galatasaray v Chelsea Live Commentary

Torres starts ahead of Samuel Eto’o, who is on the bench alongside Demba Ba.

Oscar starts on the bench, but Eden Hazard, Frank Lampard, Ramires, Willian and Andre Schurrle all start.

Meanwhile, former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba leads the Galatasaray attacking line. Another player who played for Jose Mourinho while at Inter Milan, midfielder Wesley Sneijder and ex-Arsenal right-back Emmanuel Eboue, are also named in Roberto Mancini’s starting team.

Galatasaray v Chelsea

Galatasaray: Muslera, Alex, Balta, Chedjou, Eboue, Sneijder, Inan, Felipe Melo, Hajrovic, Drogba, Burak Yilmaz
Subs: Ceylan, Gulselam, Bulut, Kaya, Kurtulus, Colak, Sarioglu

Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Terry, Ivanovic, Hazard, Lampard, Ramires, Willian, Schurrle, Torres
Subs: Schwarzer, Cole, Oscar, Mikel, Ba, Eto’o, Kalas

Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)

Watch Manchester City v Chelsea EPL Live Streaming

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MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko lead the attack for Manchester City in tonight’s Barclays Premier League clash with Chelsea at Etihad Stadium.

Watch Manchester City v Chelsea EPL Live Streaming | Follow Live Radio Commentary | Live Soccer Scores and Updates

Negredo returns to the starting team after come back from injury and he starts in place of the injured Sergio Aguero, who could be out for another three to four weeks with a hamstring problem.

Jesus Navas and David Silva will be their support, while Martin Demichelis starts is the surprising choice at holding midfield in place of Fernandinho.

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has again decided to start with Samuel Eto’o as the lone forward, while Eden Hazard and Willian have been asked to give the main support tonight.

Brazilian playmaker Oscar has been dropped, but there is a first Premier League start for Nemanja Matic, as he play in a three man midfield that also includes Brazil duo David Luiz and Ramires.

New signing Mohamed Salah is on the bench.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho: “The team I have selected is a team to defend when they have the ball and to attack when we have the ball.

“They are a strong team. Our game plan is to be strong defensively but to be a threat to the opponent.

“We want to win but we know that our opponent will have a lot of the ball and when they have it they are the most dangerous team in the country.”

Manchester City v Chelsea

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Kolarov, Jesus Navas, Demichelis, Toure, Silva, Dzeko, Negredo
Subs: Milner, Rodwell, Clichy, Pantilimon, Jovetic, Boyata, Lopes

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Luiz, Matic, Willian, Eto’o, Hazard
Subs: Cole, Lampard, Oscar, Mikel, Salah, Ba, Schwarzer

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

Video Highlight: Chelsea beat Man United 3-1; Hat-trick for Eto’o

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LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Samuel Eto’o fired home a hat-trick and Chelsea kept the pressure on the English Premier League leaders by beating Manchester United 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Video Highlight: Chelsea beat Man United 3-1

Eto’o Scores – Chelsea 1-0


Goal Eto’o – Chelsea 2-0 Man United – 19-01… by hd2014

Eto’o Scores – Chelsea 2-0


Goal Eto’o – Chelsea 1-0 Man United – 19-01… by hd2014

Eto’o Scores – Chelsea 3-0


Chelsea 3-0 Manchester United (Eto’o Goal… by ourmatch

Hernandez Scores – Chelsea 3, Manchester United 1


Javier Hernandez goal Chelsea 3-1 Manchester… by GoalsArenaa

Manchester United dominated the game in the early goings, but poor defending afterwards saw Jose Mourinho’s men capitalizing to take the lead through Eto’o, who opened the scoring in the 17th minute after his shot took a deflection off Michael Carrick and beat David De Gea in goal.

Shortly before the half-time whistle, Eto’o, once again took advantage of some poor marking by Rafael to sweep home past the Manchester United goalkeeper.

The Cameroon international who got the starting nod ahead of Fernando Torres, then justify his place in the lineup by completing his hat-trick after blasting home from close range in the 49th minute.

Manchester United got a goal from substitute Javier Hernandez, but it wasn’t enough to prevent David Moyes’ men from falling to their seventh Premier League defeat of the season.

Nemanja Vidic was sent off in stoppage time for a poor tackle on Eden Hazard.

Eto’o was named Man of the Match.

Watch Chelsea v Manchester United Live on NBCSports

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LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Manchester United make three changes from the side that defeated Swansea City, while Chelsea make two adjustments for their Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Manchester United manager David Moyes has recalled winger Ashley Young to the starting lineup, while with Jonny Evans and Phil Jones also return from injury.

Shinji Kagawa and Darren Fletcher were amongst the players making way, despite playing impressively in the last game.

Danny Welbeck leads the attack with Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie still out injured.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho makes two changes to his side that beat Hull City 2-0, with Samuel Eto’o starting up front and Branislav Ivanovic returning from a knee injury.

New signing Nemanja Matic starts on the bench.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Luiz, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Eto’o. Subs: Schwarzer Cole, Lampard, Mata, Mikel, Matic, Torres.

Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael, Evans, Vidic, Evra, Jones, Carrick, Valencia, Januzaj, Young, Welbeck. Subs: Lindegaard, Smalling, Cleverley, Fletcher, Giggs, Kagawa Hernandez.

Derby v Chelsea starting teams; FA Cup live football scores

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(Sporting Alert) — Despite making seven changes from the side that played last time out, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho still named a strong starting side for Sunday’s FA Cup 3rd round clash with Derby at Pride Park Stadium.

Follow Live FA Cup Football Scores

However, even with all the changes, Spanish playmaker Juan Mata still can’t force his way into the starting team, as he starts is on the bench.

Willian, Oscar, Samuel Eto’o and Mark Schwarzer all start for the EPL side, with the likes of Fernando Torres, Eden Hazard and John Terry on a strong bench. Michael Essien, who starts in midfield today, captains the side, with John Obi Mikel, Ramires and Ashley Cole all starting as well.

For Championship side Derby, manager Steve McLaren makes just two changes from the starting side that featured in the defeat against Wigan.

Jeff Hendrick and Simon Dawkins come in for Johnny Russell and Craig Bryson, who are both force to miss the game.

Midfielder Will Hughes also start for Derby, with Andre Wisdom and Michael Keane, on loan from Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, starting as well.

Derby v Chelsea

Derby: Grant, Wisdom, Keane, Buxton, Forsyth, Hughes, Eustace, Hendrick, Ward, Martin, Simon Dawkins
Subs: Freeman, Sammon, Bennett, Legzdins, Whitbread, Bailey, Cisse

Chelsea: Schwarzer, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Essien, Mikel, Ramires, Oscar, Willian, Eto’o
Subs: Cech, Torres, Mata, Hazard, Terry, Kalas, Baker

Referee: Andre Marriner

Chelsea boss Mourinho ready to dump Ba, Torres for Higuain

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Gonzalo Higuain
Gonzalo Higuain of Napoli

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is ready to dump Fernando Torres and Demba Ba on Napoli boss Rafa Benitez as he seeks to bring in Gonzalo Higuain in the January transfer window.

Chelsea forwards, Torres, Ba and Samuel Eto’o has been struggling to score goals in the English Premier League this season and Mourinho is becoming more and more frustrated.

The Portuguese boss has been doing his best to stay grounded, but it is believed that he’s beginning to lose patience with his misfiring strikers and is ready to bring in at least one new frontman during the January transfer window.

According to reports, Napoli forward Higuain is the man Mourinho has identified as the main target.

The pair worked together during their time at Real Madrid and it is believed that Higuain would welcome a move to the EPL.

However, the Argentine would be Cup-tied, meaning he would be ineligible to play in the Champions League, something Mourinho will be considering.

Benitez worked with both Torres and Ba during his stint at Chelsea and was the one who brought the latter to Stamford Bridge from Newcastle last January.

Benitez likes the idea of having more options in front of goal, but is not too keen on letting Higuain leave, after beating Arsenal to his signature in the summer when Arsene Wenger delayed to pay his transfer fee.

Meanwhile, it is also understood that Monaco forward Radamel Falcao is next on the list and he would be available to fire in the Champions League should he complete a move to London.

Mourinho would also welcome selling Ba to Arsenal if it helps to fund for a new striker.

EPL Football HT Scores: Chelsea 2, Liverpool 1; Spurs 1, Stoke 0

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Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto’o celebrates after scoring a goal for Chelsea

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Here are the half-time scores from the English Premier League games currently taking place on Sunday, December 29.

Samuel Eto’o has scored to put Chelsea 2-1 up against Liverpool at half-time after Jose Mourinho’s men fell behind early.

Martin Skrtel gave Liverpool an early fourth minute lead after he finished from close range, following a set piece played inside the penalty area that was poorly handled by the Chelsea defenders.

However, Eden Hazard grabbed a super equalizer in the 16th minute, before Eto’o, getting the nod over Fernando Torres, slid home past Simon Mignolet and scored the go ahead goal in the 33th minute.

Roberto Soldado, meanwhile, fired Tottenham into a first lead over Stoke City from the penalty spot after defender Ryan Shawcross handled the ball inside the penalty area.

Soldado stepped and coolly scored from the spot, his first goal in eight English Premier League games and his 10th of the season so far.

It was also the Spanish forward’s fifth successive goal from the penalty spot for Tottenham since his summer move to White Hart Lane.