Van Persie: Fatigue could affect FA Cup tie against Chelsea

The Manchester United striker has suggested that both sides' busy schedules could play a part in Monday's replay, with Manchester City waiting in the semifinals at Wembley Stadium

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie believes that fatigue could play a part in Monday's FA Cup quarterfinal replay against Chelsea with both teams having just played Saturday.

After a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford, the two clubs will meet again at Stamford Bridge just two days after their latest Premier League fixtures in a match that starts early in the day. Van Persie believes the 48-hour rest period is not enough and admitted that the close proximity of the games added to the risk of muscular injuries due to tiredness.

"These games are just too close to each other," van Persie told reporters. "People have to realize they can't expect a great game of football because it is not possible.

"Normally on the second day your muscles are quite bad, but now we have to play at this certain time.

"It is a shame but we can't do anything about it because there are Champions League games in midweek and Chelsea are still in the Europa League."

Chelsea interim manager Rafa Benitez has also bemoaned the fixture congestion after he was forced to make eight changes to his side for the 2-1 loss to Southampton at the weekend.

"When you don't have one or two players you have to manage the squad," Benitez said. "The day after a game you feel tired, two days after you feel even more tired.

"That is the reality. The second day will be really tough for everyone."

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Pastore: Playing Messi will be emotional

The Argentine praised his compatriot for being the best player in the world, and insists les Parisiens can make it into the semifinals despite the Blaugrana's quality.

Javier Pastore has voiced his excitement about playing against international teammate Lionel Messi when Paris Saint-Germain hosts Barcelona on Tuesday night.

Les Parisiens will be hoping to emulate AC Milan's home win against the Blaugrana but avoid the subsequent collapse at Camp Nou when the two European giants clash in their Champions League quarterfinal in April.

"He's the best player in the world!" Pastore responded when asked about Messi by PSG's official website. "He shows it match after match. For us Argentines, he is a reference and an example. I am delighted to be playing against him, it will be a very special moment for me. There will be a little emotion there for me.

"We will have to remain focused [against Barca] for 90 minutes. You have to stay calm when they have the ball. Barcelona are a team that exploit the smallest error from the opposition to score. From that moment, it is very hard to come back."

PSG is naturally the underdog against the 2010-11 Champions League victors, but Pastore is confident that a semifinal berth is not beyond the squad.

"At this level of the competition, every team is strong, but anything is possible," he added. "We need to play two great matches of football.

"If we stay focused we will have reason to hope we'll go through. It's the only way of getting through this round."

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Benitez: 'Impossible' to cope with Chelsea fixture congestion

The Blues boss launches an attack on the London club's onerous fixture list, which will see them play six games in 16 days, including a trip to Russia in the Europa League

Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez has labelled the club's fixture list "impossible", as the club prepares to embark on a hectic schedule of six games in 16 days.

The London club's agenda includes two Premier League games, a Europa League fixture against Rubin Kazan and, on Monday, an FA Cup replay with Manchester United, all within nine days.

"Normally, if you have three days between games, you can see the players are tired. When it's two days, it's impossible," Benitez fumed to reporters. "The main thing is using your eyes, your knowledge, the conversations with staff. Then I have to consider the positions of the players - and where the other sides have their key players as well - and prepare the game plan."

He added, "You have to put things together rather than having just one priority because lots of things are an influence, including analyzing the players and the scouts' reports. In terms of trying to prepare the tactics for the United game, that's fine, but physiologically it is much harder. You feel fine the day after a game but the second day is much harder and it will be really tough for everyone."

While United can afford to rest key players against Sunderland on Saturday with its 15-point lead at the top of the Premier League providing a mammoth protection barrier against any slip ups, Benitez understands that Chelsea don't have the depth to match that of Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Benitez said, "It is impossible to be fully fit for two games. All of them can play, but at which level? Sometimes you can win if you are not 100 percent because you are just better than the other team but that depends on the position of the players who are tired and the opposition."

"Now we have to make these decisions. We know that if we win, it will be that we did the right thing. But if not, we'll be told, 'You made a mistake'."

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Robben rubbishes 'insane' talk of Bayern exit

Reports have linked the winger with moves to Galatasaray and Inter, but he insists his sole focus is on ensuring the Bavarians end the season with silverware.

Arjen Robben has quashed "insane" reports that he could leave Bayern Munich in the summer to join either Galatasaray or Inter.

The 29-year-old struggled with a succession of injuries in the first-half of the season and has since been forced to settle for a place in coach Jupp Heynckes' rotation system at the Allianz Arena.

The scenario has prompted speculation that Robben could join up with Netherlands teammate Wesley Sneijder in Istanbul or make the switch to Serie A, but the winger insists there is no truth in the rumors.
"One day it's Galatasaray, the next it's Inter. It's insane and none of this is in my head," Robben told Bild. "I'm solely thinking about [the match against] Hamburg, then Juventus and the return leg after that. It's only about my team and our objectives. Anything else is written and fabricated, I have no influence on it.
He added, "It could only annoy me if I listened to it. It is part of football, and if other clubs are interested in me, then that's great and I'd respect that. I have no interest in making a change."
Robben has six goals in 18 appearances for Bayern this season.

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I'd prefer Rickie Lambert to Torres, claims Southampton star Cork

The former Chelsea youngster insists he would choose his Saints team-mate over the Spaniard and describes the difficulty in rising through the ranks at Stamford Bridge

Jack Cork insists he would rather play alongside Southampton team-mate Rickie Lambert than Chelsea striker Fernando Torres.

Lambert has scored 13 goals in his debut Premier League season, more than any other English player, while the Spaniard has only managed 14 since moving to Stamford Bridge in 2011.

The Saints face off against Chelsea on Saturday and Cork believes the Blues' backline will have just as much to worry about as his own side's.

"Rickie has been different class for us for the last three or four years now. For someone of his build his touch is unbelievable. He is great to have in your team." Cork told the Daily Mirror.

"Torres and [Chelsea teammate Demba] Ba have scored lots of goals in their career and you do not pay £50 million for someone who is not any good. If you asked me who I would rather have in my team, I would have to say Rickie."

Cork was a youth player at Stamford Bridge, before joining the Saints permanently in the summer of 2011, and admits the uncertainty at the very top of the club makes it hard for young players to make an impact with the west London side.

"Chelsea was massive for me and from eight years of age it was my dream to play for them," he explained. "That was when Chelsea were doing really well and winning titles so I can understand why nobody was given a chance. With the managers chopping and changing there is always a lot of pressure on them to win games so it is tough to blood youngsters."

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Inter 1-2 Juventus: Matri settles Derby d'Italia as Old Lady continue title march

The former Cagliari man created the opener for Fabio Quagliarella with a sublime dummy before then popping up to net the winner, after Rodrigo Palacio had briefly leveled matters.

 Juventus took a significant step towards a second successive Scudetto by battling its way to a 2-1 victory over Inter in Saturday's Derby d'Italia at San Siro.

Fabio Quagliarella opened the scoring in sensational fashion just three minutes in with a stunning strike from just outside the area, after Alessandro Matri had created space for him with an ingenious stepover.

Rodrigo Palacio drew a game home side level shortly after halftime with an impressively composed finish but there was no containing the Bianconeri's front two, who combined to devastating effect again on the hour mark. Matri this time applied the finishing touch in far more routine fashion to send Antonio Conte's men 12 points clear at the summit of Serie A. Esteban Cambiasso capped off the match with a late, ugly challenge which drew a deserved red card.

Juve would have been forgiven for having one eye on its midweek Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich, but the likes of Gianluigi Buffon spoke before the game of a burning desire for vengeance, having seen a 49-game undefeated run in Serie A ended by the Nerazzurri all the way back in October.

Therefore, the way in which Juve tore into the hosts right from the first whistle really should have come as no surprise. The manner of the opener was most certainly spectacular, Quagliarella picking up possession some 25 yards out following a wonderful dummy from strike partner Matri before whipping the ball into the top right corner of Samir Handanovic’s goal.

A frustratingly brittle Inter side could easily have folded in the face of such an early onslaught but, credit to Andrea Stramaccioni’s side, it came storming back and Buffon was twice forced to come to the visitors’ rescue, tipping a low strike from Antonio Cassano around the post before then scrambling a Palacio header off the line.

It was Juve which continued to carry the greater attacking threat, though, and only some alert goalkeeping from Handanovic prevent Arturo Vidal from getting a shot away after the Chilean had been put through by a characteristically sublime ball over the top from Andrea Pirlo. The latter then tested Handanovic himself shortly before the break with a stinging drive from distance.

Inter responded with a tame downward header from Palacio, following more good work from Cassano, but, in truth, they home side was somewhat fortunate to go in just a goal behind at halftime.

It looked a different side after the break, though, and deservedly drew level when Palacio, with the aid of the most exquisitely timed arrival into the area, took a measured pass from Cassano in his stride before casually rolling the ball past an exposed Buffon.

However, the equalizer merely raised Juve from the interval-induced slumber and it reclaimed the lead on the hour mark. Again, the goal owed everything to the tremendous telepathy between their front two, Matri slotting home first time at the near post after being the recipient of a terrific cut-back from Quagliarella.

Inter tried valiantly to rally but it was unable to secure even a point from the game, thus all but ending their hopes of a top-three finish. Before the final whistle went, Cambiasso lunged in with an ugly challenge on Sebastian Giovinco, deservedly earning a straight red card.

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Moussa Sissoko: I want to be Newcastle's Yaya Toure

The former Toulouse player states his desire to emulate the Manchester City midfielder, believing that he shares a similar footballing style to the Premier League winner.

Moussa Sissoko has heaped praise on Ivorian Yaya Toure, whom he expects to face on Saturday afternoon when Manchester City host Newcastle.

The 23-year-old believes that the Premier League title-winner is a positive role model for him, and hopes to have a similar career to the former Barcelona midfielder.

“Toure is definitely a player I admire a lot. He's had a fantastic career at all the clubs he's been and won a lot of things. He’s a huge player for Manchester City," Sissoko told The Sun.  “I do think we have got similar styles — we're both powerful players and both like to get forward and try to score goals. Toure is Toure and I'm my own man but he is definitely someone I look up to."

He added, “If I could reach that level that would be great. It's something to aim for and obviously I hope I can. But I don't think I'm there yet — not at all."

“He's been lucky enough to play regularly in the Champions League and I've yet to play in that competition.But I will do everything possible to get there and I'll try to model myself on him. One day I'd love to think I could be as good as him.”

The midfielder also spoke of his excitement at playing against the current Premier League champions, insisting it is games like these which made him accept the challenge of joining Newcastle.

“[Manchester] City are one of the best teams in the land — it's a massive match and very important for us," Sissoko said. “I've watched a lot of them in the last couple of years and in that time they've made some incredible signings. Obviously they were champions last year so they are a big team and it's going to be very hard for us."

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