Didier Drogba scored a hat-trick in his second Major League Soccer match as he helped the Montreal Impact beat Chicago Fire 4-3 on Saturday.
The former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker made an uneventful MLS debut two weeks ago but made up for that on Saturday when he scored in the first half, equalised at 3-3 in the 61st minute then grabbed the game-winner four minutes later.
Montreal were playing their first game under interim coach Mauro Biello following Frank Klopas’ firing. They ended a four-game winless streak with the win.
Bayern cannot be caught – Magath
Former Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath has warned that German football is going to become monotonous if something is not done to reel in the champions.
Bayern are bidding to win the league for a record fourth season in a row, and, and are looking ominously strong again after winning their first three matches.
“We’re going to have to watch out that we don’t ruin the competition,” Magath said. “Bayern can no longer be caught and they are going to win the league for the next five to 10 years.
“Clubs like Augsburg are never going to be able to get to the top because they are always going to have to sell players, and not even Wolfsburg are able to keep hold of Kevin De Bruyne.”
Gera out to derail Northern Ireland
Hungary midfielder Zoltan Gera is aiming for bragging rights over some familiar faces when he lines up against Northern Ireland at Windsor Park tonight.
Gera, 36, counted Chris Brunt, Chris Baird, Gareth McAuley and Aaron Hughes among his team-mates during spells with Fulham and West Brom.
Three of those are likely to be in the Northern Ireland starting XI.
“When Northern Ireland were in Budapest I could not play, but I took some of them to a nice restaurant,” he said.
“We don’t have time for them to do the same as we are flying out straight away so if we win here I will just give them some stick.”
Berahino backed not to go on strike
Saido Berahino will back down on his strike threat and return to action with West Brom, according to PFA boss Gordon Taylor.
Berahino tweeted his vow never to play under Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace again after the club rejected a number of bids from Tottenham towards the end of the transfer window.
But with the 22-year-old reportedly set to return to training yesterday, PFA chief Taylor said he was confident there was little chance of Berahino following up his threat.
Taylor said: “He will be playing. We have made contact with both the club and player and hopefully the matter will be resolved.”
Benteke enlists help of mental coach
Liverpool’s Christian Benteke has turned to a mental coach to help him adjust to life at one of the world’s biggest clubs.
Benteke, 24, is under huge pressure at Anfield to live up to the £32 million fee that the Reds paid to bring him in from Aston Villa.
The Belgium international has scored just once for his new club, but had enlisted the help of Michel Bruyninckx, a mental coach who has a reputation for aiding the development of many of Belgium’s current crop of stars.
“When he was a boy in Belgium, he changed regularly from one club to another, because he only had one profile – as a physically strong player,” Bruyninckx said.
“I tried to encourage him then to expand his mind to see that he must not accept those labels and that he could continuously change his skills, and the way he learned to think has been enormously important to his career.”
United are panic buying – Queiroz
Former Manchester United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz has accused the club of “panic buying” and said there is a lack of star quality at Old Trafford.
Queiroz said he believed both David Moyes and current manager Louis van Gaal had made mistakes as United adapted to life without their most successful-ever boss.
“A club like Manchester, with its financial capabilities, the results must be there immediately,” he said.
“But we also want to see the players shining. Great players like George Best, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, Ruud Van Nistelrooy – where are they?
“There is panic buying. You have to prepare and then make the decisions together.”
De Rossi is Serie A’s highest earner
Daniele De Rossi is the player with the biggest wages in Serie A, as overall club spending increased by €33m this summer.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that spending on wage bills has grown by €33m this season to a total of €882m.
It would be considerably higher, but Serie A sides worked out smart deals with the Premier League clubs to get players like Juan Cuadrado, Mario Balotelli and Stevan Jovetic on loan with part of their wages paid for.
As for individual players, Roma midfielder De Rossi is the highest-paid Serie A player, pocketing €6.5m per season.