FOOTBALL NEWS: Man City have point to prove - Toure

20 September 2014 Updated 22:27

Toure has made four appearances for City this season
Yaya Toure says Premier League champions Manchester City have something to prove when they face league leaders Chelsea on Sunday.

City, who lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, trail Chelsea by five points ahead of the game at Etihad Stadium.

"We want to close the gap on Chelsea and need to win on Sunday," Toure said.

"It is going to be really important to prove that as a team and as a club that we are growing every day."

Lawro's prediction
These are the two outstanding teams in the Premier League and I am a little bit sorry that this game has come so early in the season - ideally, you want to see them meet near Christmas and then in May, not September and January.

Read Lawro's full prediction and score
Chelsea have begun this season in ominous form, winning all four of their league games and scoring 15 goals in the process, while City have been inconsistent, dropping points at Arsenal last weekend and losing at home to Stoke. in their previous game.

It is this form that led BBC Sport columnist Robbie Savage to warn that City risk repeating the mistakes they made under Roberto Mancini, when they failed to improve their squad following their title triumph in 2012 and did not retain their crown.

Speaking to Football Focus, Ivory Coast midfielder Toure added: "Chelsea are a top side who a have a great shape and are in form.

"We know it is going to be very tough because Chelsea have a strong squad and good players and are hungry to win trophies.

"We need to work hard as a team and try to do the business on Sunday and bounce back from the disappointment against Bayern Munich.

Mourinho's side beat City 1-0 at the Etihad last season
"We know it is going to be tough this year. We won the Premier League last season but that is now in the past and we have to focus on improving and being more consistent.

"It's difficult because a lot of our important players have not had enough rest and recovery after the World Cup.

"As champions we want to win it again so we have to work hard because all the other teams are going to come at us and try to beat us. We need to deliver."

New signings Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, who has scored seven goals in five appearances, have improved a Chelsea side that finished third last season, four points behind City.

Maintaining standards
The defending champions are seeking their first league win in three matches; failure to beat Chelsea would represent their worst run for 19 months, when they earned only two points out of a possible nine. City dropped only five points at home last season, winning 17 of their 19 fixtures and registering a league-high 52 points. They have already lost to Stoke this campaign.

But Sunday's game represents the biggest test of the title credentials of Jose Mourinho's side, who did the double over City last season, winning 2-1 at Stamford Bridge and 1-0 in Manchester.

The Portuguese, however, does not feel previous results will have any bearing on this weekend's match.

"What happened last year and seasons before I don't think has a relation to this season," he said. "It's a completely different story.

"It doesn't matter the record we had last season against City. We respect them totally, because they deserve that respect, but at the same time we believe in us and we want to win.

"Can we go there and win like we did last season? Obviously we can, but can we lose? We also can. And I don't think statistics play a part in this.

"I want to win this game to get three points. I'm totally focused on three points and the Premier League 2015, rather than history."

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FOOTBALL NEWS: West Ham trashed Liverpool 3-1 at Upton Park yesterday

Winston Reid gives West Ham a flying start against Liverpool at Upton Park
Liverpool suffer back-to-back league defeats.

Reds have lost three of first five league games.

Win moves West Ham up to eighth
Liverpool suffered their third defeat in five Premier League games this season as West Ham emerged victorious at Upton Park.

Early goals from Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho proved too much for the visitors, who pulled one back through Raheem Sterling before the break.
Liverpool pressed hard after half-time.

However, Hammers keeper Adrian made a succession of saves and Morgan Amalfitano wrapped up a first home win for West Ham in the 88th minute.

Sam Allardyce's men had lost both previous home games this season and taken just four points from their last eight games against these opponents.
But they could not have started much better against Liverpool.

Reid's first goal since October 2013 was a close-range effort after James Tomkins had headed Stewart Downing's free-kick into the six-yard box.

West Ham's second was more speculative as Sakho floated the ball over Simon Mignolet from the right, the ball dropping into the corner before Enner Valencia could reach it.

A difficult start for the visitors also included a yellow card for Mario Balotelli, who had a head-to-head confrontation with Hammers goalkeeper Adrian, and the exit of the injured Javi Manquillo, who was replaced by Mamadou Sakho.

Liverpool were trying to shrug off the exertions of their successful midweek return to the Champions League.

And they did have hope through their remarkable scoring record away from Anfield.

When Sterling lashed home the rebound for his third goal of the campaign after Balotelli's shot had initially been blocked, it was their 34th goals in the last 12 away games and created a club record of scoring in 17 successive top-flight matches on the road.

Valencia forced Mignolet into a good save just after Dejan Lovren had been patched up to play on following a heavy collision with his own team-mate, Sakho.

The introduction of Adam Lallana at half-time for Lucas - and the consequent tactical switch - suggested Brendan Rodgers was unhappy with his team's efforts.

On his first Liverpool start for almost two years, Fabio Borini made little impact until a low shot at the start of the second half brought a low save from Adrian.

The Italian curled a shot narrowly over as Liverpool continued to press forward in search of an equaliser.

Then Balotelli, who has now scored just one goal in his last 19 Premier League appearances, was thwarted by Adrian.
Rickie Lambert was introduced for the last push forward.

However, Liverpool were vulnerable on the counter-attack and as time ticked down, Downing's pass released Amalfitano, who applied the clinical finish.

It was the first time the visitors had lost successive league games since last December.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce:
"That performance today just shows what level and what capabilities we might be able to achieve this season.

"To score two goals in that early period really stunned the Liverpool players. We really took them to task. We played outstandingly well and really didn't let Liverpool play at all."

Reds must deal with new expectancy - Rodgers

West Ham defender Winston Reid gives his team an early lead against Liverpool at Upton Park

Diafra Sakho increases Liverpool's problems with West Ham's second after just seven minutes

Mario Balotelli did not take too kindly to Adrian's attentions. Both players were booked

The comeback is on. Raheem Sterling pulls one back for the visitors

Morgan Amalfitano wraps up the victory for West Ham

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FOOTBALL NEWS: Reds 'must deal with new expectancy'

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has told his players they must learn to handle the extra expectation that comes with being a Champions League club.

The Reds' 3-1 defeat at West Ham was their third loss in five league games.
It is only the second time Liverpool have experienced that as a top-flight club in 77 years.

"There is a new expectation at the club. Teams have always wanted to beat us but we are even more of a rival now. We have to deal with it," said Rodgers.

Liverpool returned to the Champions League on Tuesday following a five-year absence, beating Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad 2-1 at Anfield.

But the Reds were below par at Upton Park, falling two goals behind inside seven minutes as they struggled to cope with West Ham's vibrant attacking play.

Those strikes from Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho were followed by a Raheem Sterling strike for Liverpool, but the hosts sealed the victory late on through Morgan Amalfitano.

The result leaves Liverpool 10th In the Premier League, already six points behind leaders Chelsea, who have a game in hand.

Liverpool's next four games

Tues, 23 Sept: Middlesbrough (h) Capital One Cup

Sat, 27 Sept: Everton (h) Premier League

Wed, 1 Oct: FC Basel (a) Champions League

Sat, 4 Oct: West Brom (h) Premier League

"The group has come such a long way," said Rodgers. "The level expected now has grown. But we have to be able to cope with that and at the moment we're not.

"We arrived early last year. There is no limits on what we want to achieve but we have lost three of our five games. We need to get back to that level as quickly as we can.

"You can't run away from it. We were brilliant last season, but at this point last season we weren't at the level we got to at the end. We have a bit of work to do."

Hammers manager Sam Allardyce explained how he specifically focused on the fact Liverpool might be jaded from their midweek European exploits.
"Liverpool had played in the Champions League for the first time in five years, which is tiring, and we wanted to start as quickly as we could," said Allardyce.
"We said let's not let them control the tempo and press their back players. It worked brilliantly."

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FOOTBALL NEWS: Tévez earns Juventus victory against Milan

• Juventus maintain perfect start and go three points clear at summit with 1-0 win against AC Milan.



• Carlos Tévez scores to earn Bianconeri coach Massimiliano Allegri victory against his former club.



• Rossoneri coach Filippo Inzaghi suffers first defeat since taking over this summer.



• Empoli FC come from two down to draw 2-2 at AC Cesena and earn their first point of the season.



• Francesco Tavano and Daniele Rugani cancel out goals from Guido Marilungo and Grégoire Defrel.

• AS Roma, SSC Napoli, SS Lazio and FC Internazionale Milano among teams in action on Sunday.



Matchwinner @carlitos3210 on #MilanJuve: "It was a good game. We knew it wouldn't be easy because they had won their opening two matches."



— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) September 20, 2014



Elsewhere

Bundesliga: Paderborn surprise leaders

Liga: Madrid score eight

Ligue 1: Marseille reach summit

Premier League: Welbeck opens account



SOURCE: UEFA.com

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FOOTBALL NEWS: Ancelotti demands more despite rout

Carlo Ancelotti guided Real Madrid to the Champions League crown last term

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says his players still "have to improve" despite an 8-2 away victory over Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga.



Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Real responded to back-to-back league defeats with an emphatic win.



But Ancelotti wants more from Real's players to reach his required level.



"We have to improve. We showed the quality everyone knows we have which is the capability to score in many different ways," said the Italian.



Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his hat-trick with team-mate James Rodriguez

"But we need to continue improving the balance and our consistency."



Portugal forward Ronaldo took his tally to seven goals in seven matches in all competitions and he was singled out for praise by the Real coach.



Ancelotti added: "We have players with great quality and showed the quality we have, but we have a phenomenon in Ronaldo.



"After two defeats we have scored 13 goals and that is a good sign that we have responded well."

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POLITICS NEWS: White House does not expect Obama, Iran's Rouhani to meet at U.N.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday it did not expect President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would hold a meeting when they are in New York for the United Nations General Assembly next week.



White House spokesman Josh Earnest said more details on individual meetings between Obama and world leaders at the United Nations would be announced early next week, but he did not anticipate one with Rouhani being added to the schedule.



Last year Obama and Rouhani, then the newly elected president, held a historic telephone call but did not get together as some had expected at the U.N. gathering.



(Reporting by Jeff Mason)





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TECHNOLOGY NYSE tests systems, to brief investors before Alibaba's debut

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Stock Exchange tested its trading systems over the summer to make sure Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's (BABA.N) market debut on Friday goes without a hitch, after the Chinese e-commerce company's initial public offering raised $21.8 billion.

Alibaba chose the NYSE over rival exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc (NDAQ.O) to list its shares in part because it worried about Nasdaq's ability to handle a massive IPO after Facebook Inc's (FB.O) botched market debut in 2012, sources have previously said.

Nasdaq systems buckled under the tremendous volume of orders for Facebook's stock, leading to hours of delay and losses to investors.

In a bid to avoid any glitch from marring Alibaba's market debut, the NYSE conducted two mock trading sessions to ensure brokers are able to connect to its systems and do everything they normally do during daily trading, said David Ethridge, who is in charge of IPOs at the NYSE, a unit of Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE.N).

The exercises, held for a few hours on the afternoons of July 12 and Sept. 6, both Saturdays, allowed brokers to test their messaging systems, which transmit their orders and receive the all-important confirmation messages that wreaked havoc on Nasdaq's system.

"It's really about orders and message traffic," said Ethridge, who traveled to China before and after Alibaba chose the iconic Big Board as its listing venue. Customers could ask all the questions they need answered so that "we all feel good going into this thing."

The NYSE also plans to hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) to provide operational updates to members of the trading, technology and operations segments of the industry.

Alibaba's shares priced at $68 per share, at the top end of the range, on Thursday, valuing the company at $167.6 billion. Its shares are expected to start trading some time after the market opens on Friday. It could be the largest-ever initial public offering if underwriters exercise an option to sell more shares, as many expect.

Alibaba, which was founded 15 years ago in former English teacher Jack Ma's one-bedroom apartment, is responsible for 80 percent of online sales in China. As a result, investors, eager to buy into China's rapid growth and evolving Internet sector, have been clamoring to get shares.

NYSE's testing comes after a series of glitches in recent years roiled markets and weighed on investor confidence, placing a bigger focus on operational risk by both regulators and market participants. Market operators have been testing their systems to ensure order routing systems function properly.

Nasdaq, for example, has said it responded to Facebook by putting extra safeguards in place, creating new positions within the company to improve communications with the industry and regulators when errors occur, and establishing an engineering team to monitor and analyze daily performance.

TWITTER MODEL

NYSE often conducts systems testing during the weekends, but it was only last October, ahead of Twitter Inc's (TWTR.N) market debut, that it opened up for an IPO simulation requested by member firms, many of which participated in Facebook's IPO.

"We did it for Twitter, in response to another transaction that had caused people to be somewhat uncomfortable," Ethridge said. "That got everybody comfortable on Twitter going into it, and it went fine."

Still, each IPO is different because of the number of shares offered and the make-up of demand in the after-market, when investors who were unable to completely fill their order book before initial trading begins must enter the market. Estimating the number of sellers also is important to ensure a successful market debut.

Ethridge said after the pricing, a lengthy process of allocating shares to all the parties that agreed to take part in the IPO begins. It can go into the wee hours as underwriters divvy up shares among investors.

To ensure trading at the open of the IPO and during the day goes smoothly, the NYSE will work with a so-called stabilization agent, which is Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) in Alibaba's case, Ethridge said. Goldman will determine when to open trading in Alibaba and at what price, and will manage the flow of orders.

General Motors Co's (GM.N) shares started trading about 10 minutes after market open in their debut, while Twitter took about 70 minutes to open. Every IPO is different, Ethridge said.

(Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Bernard Orr)

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