Angel Di Maria acknowledged the importance of making a winning start after scoring his first goal for Paris St Germain as they began their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Malmo on Tuesday night.
Di Maria, a £44.3m summer signing from Manchester United, gave Paris SG a fourth-minute lead with a delightful shot into the top corner.
“It was important to win. It worked well, it was important to launch this European campaign with a victory,” the Argentina in-ternational winger said.
“Now we will try to continue along this path. Personally I am happy to have scored my first goal.”
Big season for Lamela – Pochettino
Tottenham Hotspur’s record signing Erik Lamela needs to prove his worth this season, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Spurs secured the Argentine midfielder’s services from Roma for £26 million in 2013, but the 23-year-old has struggled to perform consistently over the past two seasons.
Lamela came off the bench to assist Ryan Mason’s goal in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Sunderland.
“We believe we can develop his game and I think we need to be patient with him,” Pochettino said.
“I think this is a key season for him. After two seasons at Tottenham, now is the moment for him.”
Sterling not to blame, says Pellegrini
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has refused to blame new recruit Raheem Sterling’s profligacy in front of goal for the Premier League leaders’ 2-1 home loss to Juventus on Tuesday.
“I don’t think this result is just because of Raheem. We controlled the game and didn’t have many problems but football is like that,” Pellegrini was quoted by the British media as saying.
“I expect that when we have chances we must score. The differences are very slight, especially against a strong team like Juventus.”
Kaboul hopes to be back at his best soon
Sunderland defender Younes Kaboul feels he is still far from full fitness but the club’s summer recruit is confident he will be back at his best soon as his team search for their first win this season.
The 29-year-old Frenchman joined Sunderland from Tottenham Hotspur and has struggled for form and fitness during the club’s previous matches in their Premier League campaign.
“I’m still a bit far from my best because I didn’t have a pre-season, but I’m working hard every day in training to make sure that I’m at it at the weekend,” Kaboul told the club’s website.
“I felt better against Villa and I felt better again on Saturday so step by step I will get there.”
Gerrard denies Diouf racism claim
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has denied racism claims reportedly made by former team-mate El-Hadji Diouf.
In an interview with a Senegalese radio station, Diouf alleged that the long-time Anfield talisman “never liked blacks” and made life difficult for Italy international Mario Balotelli during his ill-fated spell on Merseyside last season.
Diouf also blamed the 35-year-old, now plying his trade with the Los Angeles Galaxy, of costing the Reds the Premier League title two seasons ago and England their continued presence at the World Cup finals in Brazil.
Newcastle need to cut out errors – Coloccini
Newcastle United cannot afford to sulk on their miserable start to the season and need to try and find a way to avoid their mistakes when they host Watford on Saturday, captain Fabricio Coloccini has said.
Newcastle slumped to a 2-0 defeat at West Ham United last weekend, leaving Steve McClaren’s men at the bottom of the Premier League table on two points, still searching for their first win of the season.
“We can’t accept what happened at West Ham. We must try to get points and wins in the next few games,” Argentine Coloccini was quoted as saying.
“We must try to avoid the same mistakes going forward. For us, we can’t afford to have our heads down so we must look forward and get some points.”
Jordon Ibe commits future to England
Liverpool’s Jordon Ibe has confirmed he intends to play for England if called up to the senior side.
The winger is also eligible to play for Nigeria through his father, but has progressed through England’s youth teams and made his U-21 debut for the Three Lions this month.
“It was my choice and it feels the right choice for me,” the 19-year-old told reporters.
“I was born here and have played in the younger age groups. I want to take it up to the first team one day. You want to represent your country well.
“Even at times when you’ve not got games for Liverpool, doing well with England is vital,” he added.