Returning Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has pledged to do his best to help the club which less than two months ago he appeared determined to leave.
The Uruguay international made his first appearance for the Reds in the 1-0 League Cup defeat against Manchester United since being banned for 10 matches for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Iva-novic – and he appeared fully committed to the cause.
The result is not good because we lost but the feeling is good because we played very well, we created chances and we missed,” he told liverpoolfc.com.
“All the time I try my best on the pitch. I’m here to help Liverpool and I’ll try my best.”
Van Ginkel set to miss season
Chelsea midfielder Marco van Ginkel tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Swindon on Tuesday and is expected to be out for between six and nine months.
Van Ginkel, making only his second start following a summer switch from Vitesse Arnhem, went down after an early challenge from Alex Pritchard and, despite briefly trying to carry on, soon hobbled off in the 10th minute.
Reports said the the 20-year-old was to have surgery yesterday and is expected to be out for six to nine months.
Bendtner return pleases Wenger
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was in no doubt that Nicklas Bendtner had made a “positive” return after the striker helped the Gunners to a penalty shoot-out League Cup victory at West Brom in his first appearance for the London club for over two years.
Bendtner, whose last Arsenal run-out had come in August 2011, since when he had been loaned to Sunderland and Juventus and then failed to secure another move over the summer, spear-headed the attack in a first XI showing nine changes from Sunday’s win over Stoke.
Wenger said: “I thought overall he (Bendtner) had a good game.
“For a guy who has not played for such a long time, and on his own up front, he did very well.’”
Laudrup unhappy with Cup exit
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup rejected the notion that exiting the League Cup provides his side with some welcome respite amid an already congested campaign.
The holders saw their defence of the trophy fizzle out at the first hurdle as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Birmingham – a far cry from the glory of a Wembley victory over Bradford just seven months ago.
“I want to go as far as possible in all competitions,” Laudrup said.
“We lost the possibility to go far in the competition.
“I have no regrets. You could say 10 changes from the last game but five of the players who played here were in the starting XI against Valencia.”
Juve not rushing on new Pirlo deal
Contract talks with midfielder Andrea Pirlo have been put on hold until early 2014, Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has revealed.
The Italy international’s current contract runs out at the end of the 2013-14 campaign but Juventus are in no rush to extend his existing deal.
“Pirlo’s contract? We have held talks and are calm about it. We have decided to resume negotiations in February or March,” Marotta told Tutto-sport.
The 34-year-old recently stated that he’s willing to extend his stay at Juve, but added that he would only sign a new deal if he still feels valued by the Turin giants.
We can’t win them all – Benitez
Napoli coach Rafa Benitez was not too downhearted after his side were surprisingly held to a 1-1 home draw by bottom side Sassuolo.
“When you start out, it is always a draw. At the end of the day we took a point each, but we can’t win before we start,” Benitez said after seeing Napoli lose their 100 per cent record.
“We played on the same level as the other performances, but if you play every three days and face a side that lost 7-0, you risk underestimating the chal-lenge.
“We faced a team that was organised and knew what to do, proving the 7-0 to Inter was an aberration rather than a true reflection of Sassuolo.”
Sannino unmoved by officials error
Chievo coach Giuseppe Sannino was not angry with the match officials for disallowing a legitimate goal in their 2-1 defeat to Juventus.
With the score tied at 1-1, the home side took the lead when Alberto Paloschi tapped home from close range after Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon failed to hold on to the ball.
The assistant referee raised his flag but replays showed the Chievo striker was not in an offside position.
“Paloschi’s goal should have been given, but I don’t like crying about things like that,” Sannino said.
“Referees can make mistakes and attacking them is not the right thing to do.”