Big wins for Madrid and Paris, Arsenal, Napoli strike late stunner

Real Madrid struck five in a record-equalling victory against Granada, while Julian Draxler scored on his Paris debut and there were late wins for Arsenal and Napoli.

       Draxler celebrating with Angel di maria

    

             PSG full of confidence

Real Madrid 5-0 Granada (Isco 12 31, Benzema 20, Ronaldo 27, Casemiro 58)

Madrid made it 39 games unbeaten in all competitions – equalling Barcelona's Spanish record, set last term – to cement their place at the Liga summit. The Merengues will look to reach 40 undefeated against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.

Napoli 2-1 Sampdoria (Gabbiadini 77, Tonelli 90+5; Hysaj og 30)

Lorenzo Tonelli's last-gasp effort – his first goal in almost a year – earned third-placed Napoli an unlikely win. Though the hosts fell behind, the dismissal of Sampdoria's Matías Silvestre just after the hour allowed them back into the game.

Preston 1-2 Arsenal (Robinson 7; Ramsey 46, Giroud 89)

Captain for the day, Olivier Giroud rescued the Gunners yet again by scoring for the fourth game running – three of those goals have come in the 86th minute or later – to take his team into the FA Cup fourth round at their second-tier opponents' expense.

Eibar 0-2 Atlético (Saúl Ñíguez 54, Griezmann 74)

Antoine Griezmann's first Liga goal since 2 October helped Atlético record their fourth win on the bounce in all competitions. Diego Simeone's men have conceded only once during that run.

Paris 7-0 Bastia (Thiago Silva 30, Rabiot 43, Nkunku 47, Thiago Motta 58, Lucas 63pen, Di María 77, Draxler 89)

Paris made light work of their Ligue 1 opponents in the French Cup last 64, scoring five or more unanswered goals for the second game running. Thiago Silva has struck in both those fixtures, having found the net just once in the previous 15 months, while January signing Julian Draxler opened his account on his debut.

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SUNDAY

Villarreal v Barcelona (20:45CET)

Juventus v Bologna (20:45CET)

Pep Guardiola says he has made some mistakes at city

Pep Guardiola admits he has made some mistakes since arriving at Manchester City but says he is adapting to English football.

City progressed into the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday with a 5-0 win over West Ham, but are fourth in the Premier League, seven points behind leaders Chelsea, and have been criticized at times this term for spells of inconsistency.

Guardiola's side won 10 games in a row in all competitions at the start of the season but have since endured a mixed opening half of the campaign. However, the Spaniard has refused to blame his players for any negative results and says his ideas are sometimes at fault.

Also See:
1.Pep considers Badstuber move

2.Stones thrilled with first goal

3.Slick City dump out Hammers

4.Pep: Rivals stronger than us

Can PSG's riches lure Alexis Sanchez away from Arsenal?

The winter transfer window is now in full swing! As usual, Transfer Talk has its finger on the pulse when it comes to which rumours are picking up steam. Check out all the latest deals here.



 PSG to tempt Sanchez to France?

Paris Saint-Germain hope to capitalise on the uncertainty surrounding Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal this summer, when the Chile international will enter the final year of his contract, according to the Mirror. 
The English publication reports that PSG will pay more than the £200,000-per-week wages that the Gunners have offered in order to lure Sanchez away from the Premier League.

However, much depends on whether Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is able to convince Sanchez, who has 15 goals and 10 assists in all competitions so far this season, to extend his stay in North London before the end of the current campaign.

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11 questions for Jose Mourinho

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho knows what it takes to be the best. He reached the pinnacle of his profession in 2010, when he was named the FIFA World Coach of the Year, and has a clean sweep of the biggest club trophies in world football. FIFA.com spoke to the Portuguese maestro on a range of topics, including the upcoming The Best FIFA Football Awards™, his country’s miraculous achievements as a seeming underdog, and his take on the potential expansion of the FIFA World Cup™.

The Best FIFA Football Awards are taking place on Monday 9 January in Zurich. What criteria do you use to evaluate the qualities of a player?

Honestly, I’m not too big a fan of individual awards. Football is a team sport. Teams win matches, and players are not as important as teams. Media and fans love it, managers not so much because there is some contradiction between what we work for and the individual award. However, media and fans are very important in the game, so I am not against the individual awards. There are of course special players, with such talent that they can make teams and fellow players better. These kind of players can influence a style of play or a team dynamic. For me, these are the special players. I just feel that, with the awards, the focus is exaggerated somewhat... one week after the ceremony, the campaign for next year has already begun.

In 2010, you were named FIFA World Coach of the Year. What did it mean to you to reach the pinnacle of your profession?

It was such an honour, especially because it will stay in history as the first FIFA award for a coach. However, again I must repeat that I’m a team man and 2010 wasn’t, for me, the year of my FIFA award. It was the year of my treble with Internazionale. It wasn’t Mourinho’s season, it was Inter’s and the Interisti’s season. That’s the way I feel about my job.

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Best FIFA Men's Coach

The Finalists

Claudio RANIERI

ITALY

Claudio Ranieri achieved the seemingly impossible with Leicester City. The Foxes were ranked 5000/1 by some bookmakers to win the 2015/16 English Premier League title when the Italian first took charge in July 2015 – the same odds as Elvis Presley being found alive and conclusive proof of the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. While it seemed that staving off relegation was the best Leicester could hope for before the campaign began, Ranieri would go on to inspire his charges, instilling an unrivalled team spirit as Leicester went on to incredibly win the Premier League against all odds, and claim the club’s first-ever top-flight title in their 132-year history.

Fernando SANTOS

   PORTUGAL

An electrical and telecommunications engineer by trade, Fernando Santos earned a place in footballing history by steering Portugal to their first major title at UEFA EURO 2016. In getting the most out of a side built around its undisputed leader in Cristiano Ronaldo, Santos applied his philosophy of “strength and unity”, instilling genuine team spirit among his players. Tactically astute and methodical in his approach, Santos fashioned a tightly knit side that proved solid in defence and lethal up front. With his substitutes playing just as crucial a role in Portugal’s success as his first-choice players, Santos once again displayed his game management skills and an innate ability to deploy his players in response to the situation.

Zinedine ZIDANE

     FRANCE

In his first season as a Real Madrid player, Zinedine Zidane delivered the club's ninth UEFA Champions League title. His maiden campaign in the Bernabeu dugout was no less momentous, as he led the Merengues to European Cup number 11 and became just the seventh man to win the competition as both a player and a coach. After being appointed to replace Rafael Benitez in January 2016, the Frenchman promptly set about turning around the fortunes of a team that had looked destined for another trophyless season. He may have fallen just short of overhauling Barcelona in the league, despite victory in El Clasico, but he more than made up for that by guiding his side to European glory. 

LIST OF OTHER CONTENDERS 

The final contenders for The Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2016 have been revealed.  The winner will be revealed at the ceremony in Zurich on 9 January.

Lizarazu: Zidane does nothing piecemeal

QUESTIONS ASKED TO LIZARAZU

FIFA.com: A few years ago, did you ever imagine Zinedine Zidane becoming a coach?Bixente Lizarazu?
 If you look at someone like Didier Deschamps, he was already a coach during his playing days due to his way of thinking. Zizou wasn't necessarily the same, but everyone has their own approach. He told himself that this was the best way of getting back into football and he did everything he could to understand the job. That's what makes him exceptional – that determination he puts into something when he's decided to do it. People who don't know him don't realise how determined he is, in addition to his talent. And he's followed this path with a lot of humility, step by step. He got his badges, observed, listened and then decided at some point he was ready. What's incredible is that he won the Champions League in just a few months. Plus he's overseen a long unbeaten run. He's currently beating every record in terms of getting early success.

How do you account for his rapid success as a coach?
Zizou does nothing piecemeal. His career has been built over a long period, with a certain consistency at important moments. He had lots of great moments with France and Real Madrid, and it's his entire career that's been incredible. He's started very well as a coach, but for me that's something else he'll build over a long period. It's very difficult to win the Champions League, even for an experienced coach.

How do you explain Zidane becoming a leader of men after being fairly quiet during his playing days?
  
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2016/17- Calendar of Champions League matches

28–29/06/16: First qualifying round, first leg 

05–06/07/16: First qualifying round, second leg

12–13/07/16: Second qualifying round, first leg

19–20/07/16: Second qualifying round, second leg 

26–27/07/16: Third qualifying round, first leg 

02–03/08/16: Third qualifying round, second leg 

16–17/08/16: Play-off round, first leg 

23–24/08/16: Play-off round, second leg 

13–14/09/16: Group stage, matchday one 

27–28/09/16: Group stage, matchday two 

18–19/10/16: Group stage, matchday three 

01–02/11/16: Group stage, matchday four 

22–23/11/16: Group stage, matchday five 

06–07/12/16: Group stage, matchday six 

14–15/02/17 and 21–22/02/17: Round of 16, first leg 

07–08/03/17 and 14–15/03/17: Round of 16, second leg 

11–12/04/17: Quarter-finals, first leg 

18–19/04/17: Quarter-finals, second leg 

02–03/05/17: Semi-finals, first leg 

09–10/05/17: Semi-finals, second leg 

03/06/17: Final (National Stadium of Wales, Cardiff)

• 2016/17 access list
• Competition photos
• Video highlights, interviews, archive action
• History section
• Statistics centre
• Latest fixtures and results

Team of the Year 2016

The all-star selection includes four newcomers, a front line that needs no introduction and a record-breaking goalkeeper. 

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus & Italy)

At 38, Buffon is the oldest ever player to make the cut.
Returns to the Team of the Year after a nine-year absence!
Thirteen-year span between first and most recent selections is a record (Cristiano Ronaldo is on 12).
In the all-star XI for a fourth time, surpassing Manuel Neuer (3). Iker Casillas, with six, holds the record for goalkeeper selections.

Defender: Jérôme Boateng (Bayern München & Germany)

Selected for the first time after a third successive nomination.
Previous Bayern defenders to have made the cut: Bixente Lizarazu, Patrik Andersson, David Alaba and Lahm          

Defender: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid & Spain)

Received more votes than any other player.
In the team for the sixth time, equalling Carles Puyol's record for a defender.
Fifth successive selection – no other defender has ever managed more than three in a row.

READ ABOUT TEAM  here

MORE:-

Ultimate Team of the Year: the all-time XI

Stars react to inclusion in 2016 selection

Real Madrid equals Barça's unbeaten record

Victory against Granada in their first Liga outing of the year has extended Real Madrid's unbeaten run to 39 games in all competitions, equaling the Spanish record set by Barcelona last term.

Real Madrid have equaled Barcelona's Spanish record of 39 matches unbeaten in all competitions.

Zinédine Zidane's team emulated the feat achieved by their great rivals when they defeated Granada 5-0 in their first Liga fixture of 2017. Coincidentally, it was the Santiago Bernabéu club who ended Barcelona's streak, prevailing 2-1 at the Camp Nou on 2 April 2016 thanks to a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal.

WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS here

MORE 

• Cristiano Ronaldo reclaims Ballon d'Or from Messi

• Four Madrid players in UEFA.com Team of the Year 2016

• How brilliant is Sergio Ramos?

Man United to hand Antoine Griezmann equal wages to Paul Pogba

Manchester United have already held preliminary talks with Antoine Griezmann's representatives about a transfer from Atletico Madrid to Old Trafford, the Sun claims, with the France international having been promised wages to match Paul Pogba's if he swaps La Liga for the Premier League.

Griezmann and Pogba are friends off the pitch and could soon link up for club as well as country if the report is to be believed.

Pogba, who joined United for a world record transfer fee of £89.3 million in the summer, earns a reported £220,000 a week and Griezmann can expect the same wages and bonuses if a move is agreed.

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