The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Fulham confirm Meulensteen exit Posted: 18 Feb 2014 02:44 PM PST The west London club took dramatic action Friday in a bid to preserve their top-flight status by bringing in Felix Magath as their new manager with just 12 games of the season left. However, at the time Fulham made no mention of Meulensteen's fate or that of assistant manager Ray Wilkins and technical director Alan Curbishley. But a Fulham statement issued yesterday confirmed the trio had all left Craven Cottage as Magath brought in his own backroom staff. "Fulham Football Club have officially announced the appointments of Tomas Oral as first-team coach and Werner Leuthard as conditioning coach, both reporting to new first-team manager Felix Magath, effective immediately," the statement said. "The club simultaneously made the formal announcement that Rene Meulensteen, Alan Curbishley, Ray Wilkins, (coaches) Mick Priest and Jonathan Hill have departed Fulham. Terms of the parting are complete and confidential." Fulham chairman Shahid Khan added: "I'm very grateful to Rene, Alan and Ray, as well as Mick and Jonathan, for their commitment to Fulham. Their efforts were admirable and appreciated, and I wish them the best. "Felix has come to Fulham with purpose and exceptional confidence, and I know he's extremely pleased to have Tomas Oral and Werner Leuthard join him for the mission ahead. From today forward, the focus is singularly on winning football matches and remaining in the Barclays Premier League. The work has begun." Former Manchester United head coach Meulensteen had been in charge of the Cottagers for little more than two months after being promoted from within the west London club's backroom staff to replace fellow-Dutchman Martin Jol on December 1. However, Wednesday's 3-2 home defeat by Liverpool – where Fulham twice took the lead before losing out to Steven Gerrard's stoppage-time penalty – left the Cottagers bottom of the table and four points adrift of safety. And that was enough for Khan, a Pakistan-born US-based businessman, to sack Meulensteen. It was the second time this season Meulensteen had been dismissed after he was fired just 16 days into his time in charge of Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in August. Meulensteen responded to his effective sacking Friday by accusing Fulham of "freaking out" and "hitting the panic button on the emotions of fear". Former Bayern Munich manager Magath's first match as Fulham boss will be away to West Bromwich Albion, themselves just above the relegation zone, on Saturday. – AFP, February 19, 2014. |
| Ibrahimovic double puts PSG on verge of quarters Posted: 18 Feb 2014 02:40 PM PST Leverkusen, second only to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, suffered their third straight home defeat as Laurent Blanc's PSG were rarely troubled at the BayArena with Ibrahimovic the architect of the victory with two goals in three first-half minutes. "We had a good start and when you are one goal up, it's easier, it gives you space," said Ibrahimovic. "We had a good first half and continued to play our game after the break, when they played with one less, so it was a good day." Left winger Blaise Matuidi put PSG ahead with barely two minutes gone before Ibrahimovic netted a penalty, then added a second when he unleashed a thunderbolt of a shot to make it 3-0 at the break. Replacement Yohan Cabaye then added PSG's fourth just before the final whistle. It meant 32-year-old Ibrahimovic replaced Cristiano Ronaldo as the competition's top-scorer with 10 goals in six Champions League games this season after the Swedish star also netted four in the 5-0 rout of RSC Anderlecht in Belgium last October. "I have an embarrassment of riches in my team at the moment," said PSG's contented coach Blanc. Bayer were reduced to ten men when Ibrahimovic's marker Emir Spahic was sent off for a second yellow, and the subsequent red, for the final half an hour. Sami Hyypia-coached Leverkusen now face an unenviable task to try and salvage something from the return leg in Paris on March 12. Leverkusen defender Omer Toprak complained: "In the first half, we played without motivation, with fear. I don't know why we played like that but in any case, we played very badly. Paris walked over us. It was too easy for them." The French league leaders took an almost immediate lead when Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes lost possession in midfield, Matuidi fed Ibrahimovic out the flank and the Swedish striker's pass found Marco Verratti in space. The Italian right winger put a superbly timed ball in behind the Leverkusen defence which Matuidi slotted home. It could have 2-0 after ten minutes as Ibrahimovic's shot cannoned off Roberto Hilbert's torso, with the right-back the last defence with the hosts' back four in disarray. Having lost their last two home games, Leverkusen started to find their rhythm after the initial setback with striker Stefan Kiessling heading over from a free-kick on 19 minutes during a rare forage into the PSG half. With just over 60% possession, it seemed only a matter of time before PSG added a second and Ibrahimovic struck with two goals in three minutes. The first came when referee Viktor Kassai spotted Spahic pulling down Ibrahimovic in the area, booked the defender and awarded the spot-kick, despite furious protests from the Bayer defence. Ibrahimovic slotted the penalty on 39 minutes and then gave the guests a commanding lead with a fantastic shot from just outside the area. Matuidi found Ibrahimovic on the edge of the box and the Swedish star rifled a spectacular first time shot into the top right corner. Hyypia reacted at half-time by taking off left winger Son Heung-Min for 17-year-old Julian Brandt and swapping captain Rolfes for Stefan Reinartz. The hosts fortunes did not improve as Spahic, who had already been shown a yellow for the foul which led to Ibrahimovic's penalty, was booked again for holding back right-wing Lucas and sent off on 59 minutes. Matuidi's replacement Cabaye then added the fourth on 88 minutes with PSG players lining up to score as the Leverkusen defence once again breached. – AFP, February 19, 2014. |
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