Mancini plays down ‘deserved’ Manchester City triumph over United

A superb defensive display from the Blues, who prevented the Red Devils from having a single shot on target all match, ensured they went top of the league with the 1-0 win

Roberto Mancini continued to play down Manchester City’s title chances despite leapfrogging Manchester United at the top of the table with a 1-0 win over the reigning Premier League champions.

Vincent Kompany's header in first-half stoppage-time was all that separated the teams, but they outplayed the visitors for the majority of the match. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were denied a single shot on target at the Etihad Stadium, and Mancini was convinced the victory was well earned.

"I think that we deserved to win this game," he told Sky Sports after the game.

"We scored, we had chances [and] we played well. We had a chance to score a second goal.

"I don’t think they had a chance a score. It was a good performance. It was a difficult game because United are a top team."

The Blues have to travel to Newcastle United next Sunday before facing QPR on the final weekend of the season at the Etihad Stadium.

He said: "We are happy but I think that next Sunday we’ll have another difficult game."

The former Inter Milan boss brushed off suggestions he should publicly back his team as contenders for the title now for his supporters’ sake.

The Italian added: "I don’t think that it’s important what I can say for our supporters or my players. It is important that we work well.

"We go to play Newcastle on Sunday - [Manchester United] play an easy game against Swansea.

"For this reason I don’t think it changes [anything] for us. For now, we are top of the league but I think that United have a light advantage yet."

The match began awkwardly and it looked like the players were going to head in at the break with a 0-0 scoreline until Kompany’s powerful header, shrugging off his marker Chris Smalling.

"[The goal was at] the perfect time for the first half," Mancini admitted.

"But it was important to score another goal in the second half but like this you have a risk [the opposition can equalise]."

Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini clashed at one point in the second half when they diasgreed with a refereeing decision at the other side of the pitch.

Chelsea confirm signing of Werder Bremen playmaker Marin

Blues wrap up deal to bring the 23-year-old German international to Stamford Bridge next season in a deal reported to be worth between €7-8m

Chelsea have confirmed the the signing of Marko Marin from Werder Bremen for a fee reported to be between €7-8m.

The 23-year-old has agreed personal terms with the club and will join the Blues in the summer on a five-year contract.

Werder Bremen's general manager Klaus Allofs confirmed the winger would be leaving the Germany to join the Champions League finalists.

He told Sky: "I can confirm that [he signed a five-year-contract]. The last formalities were sorted out today and I can confirm that he will be a Chelsea player next year."

Marin joined Werder Bremen from Borussia Mochengladbach in 2009, making 83 appearances for the club and scoring eight goals.

The winger has also represented the German national team 16 times, scoring one goal.

The German's arrival at Stamford Bridge has cast further doubt over Florent Malouda's future at the club.

'Arsenal have been over-reliant on Van Persie this season' - Benayoun

The Israeli international conceded the Gunners squad need to do more to help out their skipper and feels the club must do their utmost to keep him at the Emirates next season

Arsenal's Yossi Benayoun has admitted his side have been over-reliant on skipper Robin Van Persiefor goals this season.

The Dutchman notched his 28th league goal on Saturday against Stoke and has scored nearly half of the Gunners' 66 league strikes this season.

Benayoun feels the other members of Arsene Wenger side need to start contributing more but conceded it is too late in the season to make a telling impact.

He told reporters: “We have two games to go and I concede we have been over-relying on him in terms of goal-scoring but that’s difficult to change now until the end of the season.”

The Israeli international has likened the situation to Fernando Torres' free-scoring form during his time on Merseyside and believes the two players are very similar.

Benayoun also feels that Arsenal must do their utmost to keep the Dutchman at the club for the foreseeable future amidst rumours of interest from Real Madrid and Manchester City.

He added: “I was lucky to play with some of the great strikers in my career and Robin at the moment is one of the best in the world.

“It was the same for me when I was with Fernando and he was on fire at Liverpool, scoring a lot of goals. For me, they are at the same level - two of the best strikers in the world. They are very similar because you can look at their record of scoring goals.

“Fernando at Liverpool, he scored in a lot of goals, especially when he had a player like Stevie Gerrard playing behind him helping him.

“With Robin, we know we must give him the ball to the right place and he will score like he has done all season. Everyone knows it’s important to keep him. Each club wants to keep their best players and Robin is our best player.”

Arsenal sign Lukas Podolski

The Gunners have been linked with the German international throughout the season, and his club have now confirmed he will switch to the Premier League this summer

Koln striker Lukas Podolski will join Arsenal in the summer for an undisclosed fee, the Bundesliga club has announced.

n an official statement on the club’s official website confirming the deal, executive board chairman, Claus Horstmann admitted that Koln had offered the player new “competitive” terms on his contract, but with just one year left on his current deal, a transfer was best for the team.

Horstmann said: “We deeply regret his step, which is not a decision against [the club] but for the good of his own career. Koln were prepared to extend Lukas Podolski's contract on the basis of a competitive offer.

“Nonetheless, this early transfer decision offers scope and planning security for the next season. We will jump at this opportunity to reinvest these transfer earnings back into our team's quality and into the promotion of our youth squads.

“Lukas has helped the club in many difficult situations, Lukas has left a mark on Koln's reputation and we feel the need to thank him for numerous great football experiences at Koln.”

The move has long been in the offing, with the striker's former boss Stale Solbakken admitting just two weeks ago that a move to England was on the cards and Gunners' manager Arsene Wenger publicly stating his admiration for the former Bayern Munich player in March.

And Wenger, himself, speaking to Arsenal's official website, spoke of his happiness at securing the signature of the "top-class player": "We are delighted to secure the deal for Lukas and see him as an important part of our future. He is a top-class player, a very good finisher and a proven performer at club and international level. He is a very strong player and will provide us with good attacking options.

"We are happy to have made this signing early and we are looking forward to watching Lukas contribute at the European Championships over the summer, a level where he has already made 95 caps at the age of 26. That is a phenomenal record and just shows his quality as a player.”

Ahead of the move, the 26-year-old has thanked the Koln fans before his summer switch to the Emirates Stadium: “The move to Arsenal provides a great opportunity for me to gain experience in international competitions at a European top club.

“I have made this decision not against Koln but for this great opportunity and the good of my own individual development.

“This was not an easy decision for me at all, as Koln, our fans and the city are something special for me.

“I will always carry Koln in my heart. We need to pool our strengths now and have to be fully focussed on our survival in the Bundesliga.”

The striker, who has notched 43 goals in just 95 games for the Germain international side, spoke of his delight at joining Arsenal on the club's official website: "I’m so happy to be joining Arsenal and to play in the Premier League. Arsenal is one of the top clubs in Europe with a huge history.

"There are many top quality players at Arsenal and the style of football which the team plays is fantastic. I’m proud to become an Arsenal player and am looking forward to playing my first match at Emirates Stadium and doing my best for all the Arsenal fans."

Podolski will stay at Koln for the remainder of the campaign to help their ongoing fight against relegation before moving to England.

Karanka salutes Real Madrid's character after Sevilla win: Players were tired and sad but still did what they had to do

The former Blancos centre-half admitted that Jose Mourinho's men were emotionally and physically drained after facing Barcelona and Bayern Munich in their two previous games

Aitor Karanka admitted that Real Madrid had not been at their best in Sunday's vital victory over Sevilla but heaped praise on the players for overcoming fatigue and Champions League heartbreak to move to within touching distance of the Liga title.

Los Blancos went into the game against the Rojiblancos still reeling after their penalty shoot-out failure against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

However, they still managed to see off Sevilla thanks to a double from Karim Benzema after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring in the Spanish capital.

"There are now fewer games left [three] and we had to win today after Wednesday's upset," Karanka told Madrid's official website. "I'll say it again: this team deserves to win the title.

"Regardless of winning the league title or not, these players have the character and mentality of champions.

"They were tired and sad today, and we could have played better, but we won. We did what we had to do."

Having pulled 10 points clear of second-placed Barcelona, Madrid now only need to win one of their three remaining games to secure the title, but they will be crowned champions should the Blaugrana lose at Ray Vallecano on Sunday night.

Karanka does not care how Los Blancos realise their dream but he admitted that he would have no problem having to finish the job themselves against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday evening.

"It's obviously important to win the Spanish league for everything it entails and for how hard we've worked for it. The sooner we win, the better, really," he confessed.

"But it would be nice to win at a great venue like San Mames against Athletic Bilbao because they are having a great season.

"We're all only thinking about winning the game we need to celebrate as soon as possible.

"Our men are in fantastic form and we know how tired they are. The exhaustion they had after facing Barcelona and Bayern in such a short time is eclipsed by their confidence.

"They performed very well on Saturday and made a great effort on Wednesday, so today's clash was sort of like a reward."

Amidst all of the talk about Barcelona's lack of a 'Plan B' in recent days, Karanka stated that they too only know one way to play the game.

"We only have a Plan A here, and we'll stick to it until we take the points we need," he stated. "We also only had a Plan A last season under different circumstances, so it focused on scoring more goals and helping Cristiano increase his tally."

Madrid's clash with Athletic in Basque country gets under way at 22.00CET.

Torres rediscovers lethal touch as hat-trick rounds off perfect week for Chelsea

The £50 million striker scored his first treble for the Stamford Bridge outfit as the Blues hammered QPR 6-1 to follow up their magnificent draw in Barcelona

As Fernando Torres wheeled away to celebrate his hat-trick goal, the Chelsea owner’s face broke into a broad grin and he high-fived his mates in the executive box from where he was watching the rout unfold.

The Russian never talks in public but this spontaneous gesture spoke volumes for his feelings about the redemption of the club’s record signing.

The other Chelsea goals were marked by the stock Abramovich reaction to a goal from the team he created with his largesse – a beaming smile followed by warm applause.

Like the 41,000-odd other souls at Stamford Bridge, the billionaire knew the extra significance of Chelsea’s fifth goal of the game.

It proved that the cloud that has hovered over Torres for 14 months at the club has finally given way to a ray of light and the promise of brighter times ahead. Each of his three strikes was dispatched with complete conviction and certainty.

Roberto Di Matteo’s side were already 2-0 up and playing with ferocious intensity before Torres slipped into gear and moved into space to collect Salomon Kalou’s deliciously struck first-time pass in the 19th minute and then effortlessly round Paddy Kenny before angling his shot into the net.

It was a run he might not even have made a few weeks ago as the endless search for his mojo continued. The finish almost certainly would have been out of his range.

Six minutes later, Torres had his second. After Nedum Onuoha and Kenny made a complete hash of a clearance, the number nine gleefully latched on to a loose ball and lashed it into the net with his left foot.

With his confidence soaring, Torres looked like grabbing his first hat-trick since 2009 every time Chelsea marched towards the QPR goal. The moment finally came in the 64th minute when Juan Mata, his hardly any less outstanding countryman, put him through on goal with an inch-perfect pass.

The rank-and-file held their breath. So did those in a top-tier executive box. Torres opened up his body and side-footed it into the corner with the precision of a surgeon completing a life-saving operation.

The Bridge rose to acclaim one whose suffering in a blue shirt has been so public at times that it has made for painful viewing.

By rediscovering the target with four goals in five days, the born-again Spaniard has not only renewed his confidence and injected a shot into the arm of his Chelsea career but showed what a difference he could make to his club’s double dream.