Football news

Liverpool owner John Henry is under no illusions about the task which awaits him and investment group New England Sports Ventures after their £300m takeover.

The American was at Goodison Park on Sunday to watch his club’s 2-0 derby defeat.

Having replaced the unpopular Tom Hicks and George Gillett at Anfield, Henry is keen to start making an impact as soon as possible.

“What am I thinking? How much work this is going to be. How steep the learning curve is going to be.

“We realise the challenge that lies ahead. We are not asking for a long honeymoon. This is a contact sport we are in and the going can get rough sometimes,” he said.

Chile miners invited to United match

Manchester United have invited the 33 Chilean miners who survived weeks trapped underground to attend one of their matches, one of the team’s sponsors said.

The invitation was conveyed to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera in a weekend meeting in London with the club’s manager, Alex Ferguson, and Rafael Guilisasti, of sponsor Vina Concha y Toro.

The miners were invited to attend a match at the team’s Old Trafford stadium next year, said Vina Concha y Toro in a statement.

“The courage of the miners and the rescue teams was inspirational. It is a privilege to be able to extend an invitation to Old Trafford,” Ferguson said.

Reja pleased with Lazio form

Lazio coach Edy Reja hailed his team’s all-round quality after Sunday’s 2-0 win at Bari kept the Biancoceleste top of Serie A. The result marked Lazio’s third victory in a row and extended their unbeaten run to six games.

“It’s a very positive time for us,” said Reja, whose side remained two points clear of Inter and Milan. “We played a good game and we gave away little to Bari. The team played very well in defence while we have players going forward that are capable of making the difference.

“We have important players with quality.”

It was the third consecutive game in which Lazio kept a clean sheet.

Cagliari fans are not racist – Cellino

Cagliari president Massimo Cellino believes referee Paolo Tagliavento was wrong to stop his side’s game against Inter on Sunday after hearing what he thought was racist abuse from the terraces at Stadio Sant’Elia.

The match was halted by the referee for just over a minute after a chorus of boos from the home fans reached a crescendo when Inter striker Samuel Eto’o touched the ball.

Cellino claimed Tagliavento misunderstood the reaction of the fans.

“It was certainly an error of judgment,” Cellino said.

“Racist incidents do not happen here in Cagliari. I can exclude that categorically. Our fans are not like that.”

Israel deny Chelsea Benayoun claims

The Israel FA have disputed Chelsea’s claims that Yossi Benayoun suffered an Achilles tendon tear on international duty.

Benayoun is facing up to six months on the sidelines but the IFA insisted he arrived from England with the problem.

IFA spokesman Gil Lebanony said: “When Yossi came to Israel he didn’t practise with us. He came with a diagnosis from Chelsea that it was only a small tear. But our doctor said that it was a very serious problem. Our MRI doctor diagnosed the big tear immediately.

“We’re sorry that he is injured because Yossi is so important for us, as he is for Chelsea but we’re not to blame for the injury.”

Valdano happy with Real strikeforce

Real Madrid director general Jorge Valdano has lauded his side’s attack and questioned the need for another goal-scorer amid rumours linking Wayne Rooney with a move to Spain.

Reports have suggested Real as a possible destination for Rooney if Man. United decide to cash in on the striker, whose contract runs until the summer of 2012 and whose relationship with manager Alex Ferguson has been the subject of plenty of speculation recently.

When asked about Rooney, Valdano said: “Real have two great strikers; Higuain and Cristiano, who already showed that they are capable of scoring 60 goals between them.

“As well as that there are Di Maria and Ozil, who are going to help these two goalscorers. The question is, who would we move aside if we signed another striker?”

Mihajlovic has confidence in Viola

Fiorentina coach Sinisa Mihajlovic is confident his struggling team will bounce back following their dismal start to the season. Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Sampdoria saw the Viola slip to the foot of the Serie A having accumulated just five points from seven games.

Mihajlovic took over from Cesare Prandelli over the summer but things have not gone as he would have hoped and the pressure is already starting to mount.

“I have a strong team that trains well,” said Mihajlovic.

“Perhaps the team has lost a little bit of confidence with respect to last season. But we will recover. We have placed ourselves in this situation and from this situation we will emerge alone.

“We must think positively.”