Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his side after they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 on Saturday to move back up to second in the Bundesliga table, despite playing much of the game with 10 men.
An early red card for Julian Schieber meant Dortmund had to work even harder for their win, which came just days after a tiring trip to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
“It was a really, really strong performance,” said Klopp.
“To be able to play like this after the intensive game in Donetsk is incredibly good and it also makes us proud.”
Wenger calls for Arsenal response
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has challenged his team to ignore people writing them off as no-hopers after crashing out of the FA Cup 1-0 to Blackburn and show their true character against European giants Bayern Munich tomorrow night.
“You can take a distance in terms of what people say and show how strong and good you are in the next game,” said Wenger, who suffered defeat against lower league opposition in the FA Cup for the first time.
“It is a good opportunity to show that we have character and are men who can fight for each other.”
Lewandowski talk irks Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund’s general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke has told Bayern Munich to come clean about their interest in Robert Lewandowski amid speculation that the Poland striker will join them in the summer.
“The whole issue is really getting on my nerves,” Watzke said.
“There are two scenarios: the first is that Bayern have no interest in Robert, in which case it’s all a load of rubbish.
“The other scenario is that they are interested, and then they have got to lift their cover at some stage and come to us with an enquiry.”
Luton coach wants cup money
Manager Paul Buckle wants every penny of the £500,000 Luton earned on their FA Cup run as he thinks his squad needs an overhaul if they are to return to the Football League.
Luton’s dream FA Cup run came to an end on Saturday when they were eliminated by a 3-0 fifth-round defeat to Millwall.
Asked whether he would be going to the chairman to seek money earned from the club’s cup run, Buckle said: “One million per cent yes.
“Maybe we need some fresh players coming in. We are conceding goals and that has to stop.
“(Managing director Gary Sweet) told me that I could spend it all (£500,000).”
‘We showed great character’ – Totti
Francesco Totti said Roma showed “great character” after his spectacular goal gave the under-fire Giallorossi a 1-0 win over Juventus.
“I hoped for this as we don’t deserve our current position,” Totti said. “The team always tries to do its best for ourselves and the fans. Unfortunately lately we haven’t achieved that.
“Only with great character could we beat a team like Juventus. It was normal that at the start we were timid, as we are coming off a very difficult time and Juve are among the best teams in Europe.
“We held out in the first half, then stepped up and were able to get the victory.”
Flamini’s tips
Mathieu Flamini believes Milan can exploit Barcelona’s “weak-nesses”, particularly midfielder Cesc Fabregas’s tendency not to track back when his team are defending.
Milan are the underdogs as they prepare to host the Spanish giants in the first leg of the last 16 Champions League tie at San Siro on Wednesday.
Flamini, who played with Fabregas at Arsenal, told Milan Channel: “Fabregas is a player with many qualities, as he has incredible vision and is also very good in front of goal.
“As for his weaknesses, at times he ‘forgets’ to defend.
“Barcelona have great individual talents and play wonderful football, so they are among the favourites for the trophy.”
Jovetic is unhappy, says Serbia coach
Former Fiorentina coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has claimed that Stevan Jovetic is unhappy in Florence and could leave at the end of the season.
“I consider Jovetic to be one of the best players in the Serie A, but right now he is not playing at his level,” Mihajlovic, who is currently at the helm of the Serbian national team, said.
“I am no longer in Florence, so I cannot say for sure what the problem is.
“Jovetic is a sensitive guy and it’s fundamental you know how to deal with him. He needs to feel important. It means giving him responsibility, but also ‘communicating’ that he is one of the best.
“Maybe the problem is that he doesn’t feel as highly valued as he’d like.”