Football news

Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said the Turin club will start talks with Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini today over the possible signing of Brazilian striker Amauri.

"We are meeting Zamparini, but I can't say if we are close to signing Amauri," he told Rai radio.

Cobolli Gigli went on to dismiss speculation that the club might recall former coach Marcello Lippi to replace Claudio Ranieri.

"Lippi has done great things for Juventus, but we don't need magicians or prophets," he said. "Ranieri is the right man for us."

Ferguson targets Chelsea match

Manager Alex Ferguson wants Manchester United to clinch the Premier League crown at title rivals Chelsea on April 26. United all but ended Arsenal's hopes by beating Arsene Wenger's men 2-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday, moving nine points clear of the Gunners with four matches left.

"I said before the Arsenal match that if we win the next three games we've won the title," Ferguson said. "If we win the next two (against Blackburn and Chelsea) with our goal difference, we have won the league."

River win in empty stadium

River Plate beat Tigre 1-0 in a near deserted Monumental stadium on Sunday to stay top of the Argentine championship.

River were barred from selling tickets for the game, except to club members occupying the most expensive seats, following crowd violence at a match against Arsenal two weeks ago.

"It was a strange game," said River coach Diego Simeone. "It was sad to see the empty stands but we have to obey the law."

Boca Juniors and Estudiantes both won to stay four points behind Simeone's team, who have 24 points from 10 games and are still unbeaten.

Adebayor confident on future

Emmanuel Adebayor has backed Arsene Wenger's plans for Arsenal who are set for another campaign without a trophy.

Wenger, 58, continues to hold unquestioning belief his young side can deliver and feels they will be stronger from the experience of what has been a rollercoaster season.

Adebayor said: "Arsene is a great man and a great manager. He has achieved a lot of things with this club. For sure he is going to be here.

"He has a vision to bring a lot of good players to this club. So, for sure, we will win something, no doubt about that."

Toronto loss upsets Beckham

David Beckham could not hide his disappointment after the Los Angeles Galaxy slipped to a 3-2 home defeat against Toronto FC on Sunday.

The England midfielder played all 90 minutes but could not prevent his team from dropping their first home points of the campaign against the previously winless Canadian side.

"We are disappointed," he said. "Three games into the season we can't panic too much but it is obviously not the result we wanted."

Galaxy play champions Houston Dynamo away on Saturday.

City won't part with Eriksson

Manchester City said reports suggesting Sven-Goran Eriksson's job was under threat were mere speculation. Over the weekend it was claimed that City had lost confidence in Eriksson following the team's poor recent results, with Thaksin Shinawatra lining up Portugal boss Luiz Felipe Scolari as a possible replacement.

"The chairman made it clear recently that he was happy with the progress made and that a top-ten finish was his target this season," head of communications Paul Tyrrell said.

"Our win at Sunderland equals the club's biggest points tally in Premier League history."

'McFadden transfer was wrong'

Manager David Moyes said he regrets selling James McFadden during the January transfer window. Everton have seen their charge to finish in fourth spot falter in recent weeks as they struggle with injuries.

Moyes conceded injuries have hit his squad hard and said he wished he kept hold of McFadden rather than selling him.

"You can have as many players as you like but you always need your best players in the team," Moyes said.

"If we had known, we probably wouldn't have let McFadden go."

Mazzarri rues Samp's lost chance

Walter Mazzarri, the Sampdoria coach, was left shaking his head after a costly defeat against Reggina, his former side, on Sunday. Samp missed a golden opportunity to close the gap on fourth-placed Fiorentina as they were unexpectedly beaten 1-0.

The result ended a positive run that had seen Sampdoria remain unbeaten since the end of February.

Mazzarri said: "We were a bit too passive. I realised that it wasn't a good day... we tried everything in the second half, but it all went wrong."

Adriano gives a helping 'hand'

Striker Adriano scored two goals, though one appeared to be with his hand, to set Sao Paulo on their way to a 2-1 win over arch-rivals Palmeiras on Sunday. On 11 minutes, Jorge Wagner crossed from the left, Adriano dived to meet the ball and TV replays showed that it hit his outstretched hand and flew into the net.

"It scraped my head, whether or not it hit my hand is part of football," said the player, known as 'the Emperor', at half-time.

At the end of the game, he conceded: "It was the hand of the Emperor."