Player Ratings: Manchester United 4-2 Stoke City

• 
  7

  0

    

  Manchester United

  David de Gea

  A quiet afternoon on the whole for Spaniard, but still had to pick the ball out of his net twice. Made a crucial save from Jonathan Walters when United were behind.
• 
  6

  0

  Rafael

  Was pegged back more than he would have liked due to the threat of Michael Kightly but dealt with him well generally, even if it limited opportunities to get forward.
• 
  7

  0

  Patrice Evra

  Largely composed performance from the French left-back who, unlike Rafael was happy to get forward and support Danny Welbeck as much as possible as United came back from a goal down.
• 
  6

  5

  Rio FerdinandFlop of the Match

  Was at fault for the Potters' opening goal as he found himself in a muddle with Michael Carrick and allowed Kightly to run straight through before slotting home.
• 
  5

  0

  Jonny Evans

  A steady performance from the Northern Irish international, who dealt well with the aerial presence of Peter Crouch and was calm and composed on the ball.
• 
  7

  0

  Antonio Valencia

  A superb performance from the Ecuadorian, who proved a constant menace to the Stoke defence with his pace. Provided the cross for Van Persie's strike.
• 
  3

  3

  Michael Carrick

  A steady performance from United's Mr Reliable. Always available for a pass and pulled the strings in the middle of the park throughout.
• 
  6

  0

  Paul Scholes

  Another masterclass in midfield play from the United maestro, who showed his usual calmness in possession and dictated the tempo of the match.
• 
  11

  1

  Wayne RooneyTop of the Match

  A successful afternoon for Rooney, who recovered from the setback of scoring an early own goal to score the two goals he needed to reach 200 goals in club football. Also provided an assist for Welbeck's strike.
• 
  5

  5

  Danny Welbeck

  A superb performance from the Englishman, whose movement was too much for the Stoke defence to deal with, took his goal well and showed a good understanding with his fellow frontmen.
• 
  8

  2

  Robin van Persie

  The Dutchman took a while to get going but his impact was devastating thereafter as he conjured up a magical strike as well as setting up both of Rooney's goals.

Substitutions

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  5

  0

  Anderson

  Put himself about well in the 25 minutes he was on. Dynamic performance as he looked to keep United pressing forward.
• 
  1

  2

  Nani

  Replaced Valencia, and a few neat flicks aside, did little during his time on the pitch.
• 
  2

  1

  Chicharito

  Had little time to make any impact.

 

Stoke City

2.68

1

1

• 
  1

  2

  Asmir Begovic

  Had hardly anything to do throughout apart from take the ball out of his net on four occasions. Did produce a good stop from an Evans header.
• 
  1

  1

  Geoff Cameron

  Steady performance from the American utility man, who always provided an outlet on the right flank but will be disappointed in how he dealt with Van Persie's cross for the equaliser.
• 
  1

  2

  Robert Huth

  The German could not be blamed for any of the goals but struggled to contain the movement in front of him of Rooney, Van Persie and Welbeck.
• 
  1

  0

  Ryan Shawcross

  A fantastic performance from the former United centre-half, who seemed buoyed by his ex-manager's comments before the match. Dominant throughout.
• 
  0

  1

  Marc Wilson

  Was given a tough time by Antonio Valencia, who caused numerous problems for the left-back, who still made a number of forward forays in spite of his defensive struggles.
• 
  0

  1

  Steven N'Zonzi

  A solid performance in midfield from the athletic midfield man, who set up Kightly's strike after a brilliant tackle on Scholes in the middle of the park.
• 
  1

  1

  Charlie Adam

  A valiant effort in midfield from the Scottish international, who probed with crisp passing throughout, but struggled against the dominant duo of Scholes and Carrick.
• 
  0

  1

  Dean Whitehead

  Tried to get his foot on the ball but struggled to deal with the Manchester United movement in the middle of the park and the game often went by him.
• 
  1

  0

  Michael Kightly

  The Potters' best player on the day as he pegged Rafael back and sped past Ferdinand to give his club a glimmer of hope. Was unlucky to be on the losing side.
• 
  0

  1

  Jonathan Walters

  Tried to push Evra back with a number of surging runs but was often found helping out the man behind him in Geoff Cameron as United broke with pace.
• 
  1

  1

  Peter Crouch

  A largely peripheral figure as United dominated possession. He was undone in the physical battle by the determined pair of Evans and Ferdinand.

Substitutions

• 
  1

  1

  W. Palacios

  Had little time to make an impact.
• 
  0

  1

  Matthew Etherington

  A few promising runs as he tried to get the Potters back into the contest, but could not have any telling contribution.
• 
  1

  1

  Michael Owen

  Spent most of his time in a midfield role as he struggled to get forward and support his fellow forwards, offered very little.

I have talked about Bayern with Kevin-Prince, admits Jerome Boateng

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng has admitted that he has been in touch with AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng to talk about the Bundesliga giants' alleged plans to re-unite the half brothers.
Recent reports from Germany suggested that Bayern are closely monitoring the 25-year-old's situation at the Rossoneri, and although the midfielder revealed earlier this week that he is unaware of any potential interest, both siblings have already discussed the matter.

"We have already talked about it a few times," Jerome was quoted as saying by AZ.

"I do not know how concrete it all is, though. It seems as if it's just some distant rumours for now."

The midfielder then went on to stress that Bayern cannot afford to lose focus again like they did last term, when they collapsed after a good start to the season and were pipped to the title by Borussia Dortmund.

"We can't let that happen again. It's crucial that we also win the games, where we are not at our best. We know that it will be very difficult to beat us as long as we stick together like a team."
Bayern currently hold a five-point lead over second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga table.

TEAM NEWS: Kaka to start for injury-ravaged Real Madrid against Celta

Brazil star Kaka will start for Real Madrid as they look to pick up three home points against Celta.

The playmaker starts alongside Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time in a Blancosteam severely affected by the last round of international fixtures.

The former AC Milan man was on top form for his country over the past week, scoring against both Iraq and Japan as the friendly opponents were blown away 6-0 and 4-0 by the South Americans. 

. Injuries to Marcelo, Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao have left Madrid extremely short in the full-back department, so midfielder Michael Essien is drafted in to play on the left side of defence. On the other flank, 19-year-old Frenchman Raphael Varane is Mourinho's choice. 

Gonzalo Higuain also makes a return to the first team in an attack-minded formation.

For the visitors, late fitness tests for Nacho Insa and Andres Tunez saw the former fail to make Saturday's clash. The defender, meanwhile, weas declared fit to play and will start in the middle of the back four. 

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Varane, Ramos, Pepe, Essien; Alonso, Modric; Ozil, Kaka, Ronaldo; Higuain.
Substitutes: Di Maria, Benzema, Nacho, Adan, Callejon, Carvalho, Albiol. 

Celta (4-3-3): Varas; Mallo, Cabral, Tunez, Lago; Oubina, Alex Lopez, Bustos; Augusto, Aspas, Krohn-Delhi.

Substitutes: Park Chu-Young, Toni, Bellvis, Varas, Bermejo, Lucas, Samuel. 

Magic Mata the kingpin of unstoppable Chelsea midfield

It was mesmeric, majestic, magical. It was Mata. Chelsea’s Spanish genius has been in glorious form throughout the season so far, but his performance in the 4-2 win at Tottenham on Saturday was the kind that makes your jaw drop.
Not only did Mata score two goals with superb finishes, but he was the lynchpin as Chelsea dominated the game to extend their unbeaten record in the Premier League this season and remain top of the league.

With Chelsea losing 2-1, it took a special talent to inspire the comeback. First Mata drilled the visitors level in the 66th minute from the edge of the penalty area, then two minutes later he latched on to Eden Hazard’s pass to convert past Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

As if that was not enough, he then proceeded to pick out two wonderful passes for Fernando Torres before providing the assist for Chelsea’s fourth, turned into an empty net by Daniel Sturridge.

Mata’s is unquestionably in the same league as the likes of David Silva and Santi Cazorla as Spanish stars take English football by storm with their technical abilities.

The 24-year-old instantly adapted to life at Chelsea last season ground out their way to European glory, but it is in this new-look, free-flowing side that he really shines.

Alongside Eden Hazard and Oscar, he forms a key part of the most frightening midfield in the country, one that showed again against Spurs that it can tear apart almost any opponent.

Chelsea are now, ironically, playing in the style demanded of Andre Villas-Boas by Roman Abramovich when he was employed in 2011. 

It is Roberto Di Matteo, however, who is reaping the rewards of the owner’s ambition, and Chelsea have already established something of a cushion at the summit of the table with 22 points from their first eight fixtures.

And in Mata they have a player who will surely be a serious contender for player of the year if he can continue in this form. Comfortable receiving the ball in almost any situation, his skill, trickery and vision were simply too much for Tottenham. It would be for most teams.

He already has 18 goals and 30 assists in 63 games for Chelsea, and has been worth every penny of the £23.5 million spent by Villas-Boas to sign him from Valencia. 

But his technical ability would mean nothing without exceptional workrate, and without team-mates who can make the most of his talents.

All the pieces of the Chelsea’s midfield jigsaw are fitting into place right now, with John Obi Mikel in fine form as the holding midfielder and Ramires’ box-to-box energy and pace, which is most devastating on the counter-attack.

Chelsea will, surely, hit a bad patch at some point, but right now they are like an unstoppable train, and Mata is the man driving them on.

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi to grace National League Super Four matches

Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has assured the board of the Nigeria National League that he will personally watch all the matches in the Super Four which begins on Sunday in Abuja.

Promoted clubs like Bayelsa United, Nasarawa United, Nembe City and El-Kanemi will battle for honours from Sunday to know who is the best club in that division.

Nigeria National League Chairman, Emeka Inyama told Goal.com that the board of the lower league is excited with the decision of the Super Eagles coach to see the games because it will afford him the opprtunity to also know that good players abound in the lower league.

"It is a thing of joy that Keshi is coming to watch the games. We are happy because we know we have good players that can also make the Super Eagles squad.

"A lot of people think good football is not played in the National League. But they will be surprised to see the level the game has turn into.

"I am happy for the players because this is the opprtunity they have been waiting for.

"I know they will give their best in the four matches that will be played. This is the tonic they need to showcase what they can when there is a level playing field.

City Deny Fabregas, Busquets

Say they are not planning to buy Barca duo, Manchester City has denied its alleged interest in Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fàbregas after rumours to this effect were echoed by the media. The English club distanced itself from this alleged interest in a public statement.

The club's statement read: "There's no basis to these claims and the club has neither made nor is it planning to make an offer for these players".

he claims referred to insisted that Manchester City had made contact with both players in an attempt to sign them to the English club.

Barcelona president, Sandro Rosell talked about the matter on Tuesday and said: "They're trying to undermine us".

"Manchester City can make an offer for Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Leo Messi or Victor Valdes, but it won't do them any good", Rosell said. "The players are happy here - they know they're at the best team in the world", the president concluded.

Agbim: Eagles’ll Rule Africa Again

Super Eagles reserve goalkeeper, Chigozie Agbim believes that with the rate at which Coach Stephen Keshi is handling the senior national team, the Super Eagles will soon reclaim its lost glory on the continent.

The Warri Wolves goalkeeper who said playing under the former Mali national team handler has improved his game, strongly believes that Nigeria will excel at the Nations Cup holding in South Africa next year.

“I am happy to be given the opportunity to play under Coach Stephen Keshi and I can confidently tell you that my game has really improved since I started playing for the national team,” begins the goalie.

“With the way the coach is handling the Super Eagles, I am sure that in the nearest future the Super Eagles will be a team to watch. I am also sure that we are going to do well at the coming Nations Cup".

Agbim who could not feature in last Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Calabar said he believes that his time will soon come.

“I don’t feel pained not playing in that match because I know that my time will soon come".