Wayne Rooney believes Manchester City paid the price for having too many midfielders unwilling to track back and defend in Sunday s Manchester derby.

Manchester United won their first derby since 2012 after running out convincing 4-2 victors at Old Trafford.

Yaya Toure was heavily criticised post-game, while fellow City midfielders Fernandinho, James Milner, David Silva and Jesus Nevas failed to contain their United counterparts in the centre of the park.

And Rooney said manager Louis van Gaal and United s coaching staff identified City s weakness in midfield.

We know some City players are not the best at tracking back and defending and tracking runners and we felt we could make them pay for that and we did, Rooney said.

We have got players who …

Returning striker Obafemi Martins has challenged Nigeria to prove their quality against Swaziland this week as they begin their World Cup qualification campaign in Lobamba.

The Seattle Sounders man is set to make his first appearance for the Super Eagles since March 2013 on Friday after being recalled to the national side following a 15-goal season in Major League Soccer.

Alongside 31-year-old Martins, Manchester City s 19-year-old forward Kelechi Iheanacho could debut for Sunday Oliseh s men this week as they begin their bid to reach a third consecutive World Cup finals.

Swaziland booked their place in the second qualification round with an 8-1 aggregate win over Dijibouti but Martins was bullish in his assessment of Friday s clash, which will be played on the a…

Dejan Lovren believes Liverpool can still get better as he talked up the balance of the Premier League leaders squad.

Jurgen Klopp s men were 25 points clear at the top when the Premier League season was suspended last month due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coming off last season s Champions League success, Liverpool are on t
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rack to add another trophy to their collection.

Lovren, 30, still believes Klopp s side can improve, praising the make-up of the squad.

It s important to have a mix between really young players, the middle [age] players and the experienced players. I think we have it, this is the great balance, the Croatian defender told the club s website.

We are used to playing big finals and the big games and we know how to ma…

The international break might bring respite from the packed club calendar, but with Qatar 2022 now just 20 months away, top players have little chance for rest.

Still, the start of the European World Cup qualifiers brings an opportunity for the new names on the international scene to impress, particularly with more established stars unlikely to be involved in every minute of matches over these two weeks.

Several of the continent s top teams have offered first-time call-ups to those enjoying fine form and, while some were anticipated, others have left even the players themselves surprised.

We have picked through a selection of the new faces to look out for, with a sprinkling of Opta data to highlight why they deserve a chance to impress for their country.

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(GSM) Lucas Neill has left Everton after just four months. The right back, who joined Everton in September, has signed a 1.5 year deal with Galatasaray.

The Australian international, who s contract at West Ham United expired in June 2009, was already linked with a (transfer free) move to Galatasaray last summer.

Neill choose Everton instead but has now joined the Turkish side after just four months with the Toffees.

Neill joins Galatasaray for a reported fee of €1 million.

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Central Coast Mariners coach Graham Arnold has agreed to a new deal which keeps him at the club until the end of the 2015-16 campaign.

The 50-year-old has been in charge at Bluetongue Stadium since 2010, guiding the club to two grand finals in that time and winning the title last season.

Arnold had been linked with moves to English League One club Sheffield United and Guangzhou R F of the Chinese Super League in recent months, but the Mariners have managed to tie him down for the foreseeable future, warding off potential interest from elsewhere.

His previous deal had been due to expire at the end of the forthcoming season, but he is now contracted for a further two years.

However, the Mariners remain unlikely to stand in Arnold s way if an offer comes in from out…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a penalty and could face a retrospective ban from the Football Association after Manchester United were held to 1-1 Premier League draw by 10-man Bournemouth.

The match-winner in last weekend s EFL Cup final, Ibrahimovic has performed majestically in his debut season in English football but he stole the show for all the wrong reasons against Bournemouth, whose manager Eddie Howe grappled with a bout of illness on the touchline throughout an ill-tempered contest.

Marcos Rojo s maiden Premier League goal gave United a deserved 23rd-minute lead before ex-Red Devils youngster Josh King levelled from the penalty spot.

Ibrahimovic then found himself embroiled in a flashpoint on the stroke of half-time, when Tyrone Mings trod on his head and he…

Philipp Lahm insists he is not playing his final campaign with Bayern Munich, as Carlo Ancelotti s team continue their preparations for the second half of the season.

The Bavarian giants are in Qatar for a warm weather training camp ahead of a trip to Freiburg on January 20, when the 2016-17 Bundesliga resumes.

Having turned 33 in November, Lahm who retired from international duty following Germany s World Cup triumph in 2014 is in the twilight of his decorated career and has been tipped as a future sporting director.

But the versatile captain, capable of playing in defence and midfield, is adamant he still has more to offer on the pitch at the Allianz Arena.

In this moment, it is my second last [mid-season] training camp, he was quoted as saying by Bil…

Jurgen Klopp accepted Liverpool s defending was not good enough as a Leandro Trossard hat-trick secured a 3-3 draw for Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield.

Trossard gave the visitors deserved two-goal lead inside 17 minutes of head coach Roberto De Zerbi s first game in charge on Saturday, but Roberto Firmino pulled a goal back before the break and equalised early in the second half.

Adam Webster s own goal put the Reds ahead for the first time, but a third clinical left-foot finish from Belgium forward Trossard with seven minutes of normal time remaining salvaged a warranted point.

Trossard became only the third visiting player to score a Premier League hat-trick at Anfield, after Peter Ndlovu and Andrey Arshavin, and Brighton could have added more goals as Live…

Bruno Fernandes admitted Manchester United were destined to lose the derby from the opening minutes because they did not trust themselves.

The midfielder was part of a team over-run by a vibrant Manchester City, who tore to a 6-3 victory thanks to hat-tricks from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.

City led 4-0 at half-time and later held a 6-1 cushion, before United grabbed a pair of late replies from substitute Anthony Martial.

It was gruesome watching for anyone on the red side of Manchester, particularly as United had been on a four-game winning run in the Premier League going into the game.

The belief from the beginning was not the best and I think that caused us many problems and made us concede early goals, said Fernandes.

Fernandes captained U…