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Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen called upon his team-mates to raise the quality of their performances late in games after they earned a narrow victory over La Liga strugglers Huesca.

Frenkie de Jong scored a first-half volley that proved decisive at El Alcoraz but Ter Stegen had to be alert to keep Rafa Mir from equalising as the division's bottom club were allowed to attack in the second half.

Ter Stegen acknowledged that Barcelona's display improved on their showing in a 1-1 draw with Eibar last time out in La Liga, but called for more hard work to put the Blaugrana back in contention for a place in the top three.

"For 35 minutes we did very well, we played very good," Ter Stegen told the club's official website.

"We had a lot of possession, we pressed them high, when we lost the ball we were directly right in front of them to keep on going. We made it very difficult for them to come out from the back.

"We have to improve, that's what I think, overall in the last minutes so that we don't suffer as much. I think it's not needed.

"But we won the game which is very important and we move forwards."

Ter Stegen paid tribute to De Jong, who scored his second La Liga goal of the season to equal the number he scored in the whole of 2019-20.

"I'm super happy for him, it's not that often that he scores," he said with a laugh. "I hope he continues like this, and for me and the whole team it's nice to have a clean sheet for the restart and I'm really happy for us as a team."

De Jong, who arrived at Camp Nou in a €75 million transfer from Ajax in mid-2019, credited the fine chipped pass from Lionel Messi for giving him the opportunity to net his fourth goal for the club.

He said: "Especially in games like this when they close a lot and they are going backwards, all of their team almost, it's important to make these runs into the box as a midfielder.

"Leo gave me a great pass and I could score."

Asked whether scoring the club's first goal of 2021 holds significance for him, De Jong said: "I try to score a bit more but I don't think it means something, no."

Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo has backed his side to move for in-form Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud.

Pirlo saw his side defeat Udinese 4-1 on Sunday, a win that took them into fifth place in Serie A. The Bianconeri are, however, still 10 points back of table-topping AC Milan, who have played one more game than the defending champions. 

Juve's attack has faltered in the 2020-21 campaign, with Goal reporting earlier this week that the club are eyeing a move for former Italy international Graziano Pelle.

Giroud could be another option for the club, as the France striker enters the final six months of his contract at Stamford Bridge. 

The 34-year-old has hinted he will stay with the Blues for at least the rest of the season, after a strong run that has seen him score eight goals in his last seven outings in the Premier League and Champions League.

Pirlo didn't deny that such form has caught his attention. When asked about a possible move for Giroud, he replied to DAZN: "He'd be handy!

"The window opens tomorrow, we already discussed with the club what we want to do and if there are any opportunities. Maybe a striker that can rotate with our strikers."

Paulo Dybala could also provide Juve with a boost in attack during a season in which the forward has been in and out of the lineup through injury and Pirlo's decision.

Dybala scored Juve's fourth goal on Sunday, and Pirlo was quick to stress the Argentine's importance to his side.

“We need Dybala, he needs us," Pirlo said. "He worked very well during the week in training, we could tell during the match that he was in better physical condition and we kept him on to the end because we hoped he would score that goal.”

Juventus fell 3-0 to Fiorentina before Christmas in their most recent match before Sunday, a result that Pirlo admitted had an effect on his players against Udinese.

“It wasn’t the best Juventus, as we were coming off a bad defeat to Fiorentina, so we started quite timid and nervous, especially when their forwards ran towards us. We gained more confidence as the game went on,” Pirlo said.

“I was not satisfied with the initial approach to the game, as we were still feeling the fear of our last defeat to Fiorentina. The timing of the movements weren’t right, especially on the wings.

“We knew that Udinese would try to sit back, counter and wait for our mistakes, but we did well with the preventative marking to ensure they couldn’t do that.”

Frank Lampard is running out of time as Chelsea manager, according to Roy Keane. 

Lampard's side turned in a woeful display on Sunday, falling 3-1 at home to Manchester City in a match that was out of reach by half-time.

The defeat continued a concerning run of form for the Blues, who have won just one of their last seven Premier League matches and sit eighth in the table.

Lampard led Chelsea to a fourth-placed finish last season in his first campaign at the helm, which was seen as a strong performance in a season that saw Chelsea hit with a transfer ban. 

But, after a summer spend of more than £200 million on new recruits, more was expected of the Blues in 2020-21.

Though all of Chelsea's new players need time to settle, Keane was dismayed by Chelsea's overall effort against City, and noted the club's track record of going through managers quickly.

"Frank will be concerned for what he saw today," Keane told Sky Sports. "Today you’re thinking with the attacking players, I thought they’d put up a performance, but there was a lack of energy.

"When you’re losing a game 3-0 and not putting a tackle in, it’s a huge concern. He’s got senior players out here, players who have won the World Cup, how they didn’t sort it out, making tackles, pulling people in, sitting in. That would be the big concern for me.

"Chelsea don’t give managers time. It’s in their DNA and history not to give them time."

“Frank always comes across well. I didn’t realise the word patience existed at Chelsea, particularly for managers."

Keane added that while managers like Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Pep Guardiola at City were afforded time to build their projects, Lampard may not be given the same luxury given his lack of a comparable track record as a manager.

“I don’t think Frank’s going to get much time. There’s huge pressure this year, you have to give players time to settle coming from foreign countries," Keane added.

“Last year he had a free pass, but they’ve spent money and it brings added pressures, no matter who the manager is.

“Every team has injury problems, he’s got to get ready. When you start questioning work-rate and desire, no matter how good a team you are, you’re going to slip up.

“He’s new to it. He’s 42 years of age. Klopp came from Dortmund and won big prizes over there. He’s up against all these managers – [Carlo] Ancelotti, [Jose] Mourinho, Guardiola. These guys have got CVs behind them. He won’t get the time Klopp got."

Mikel Arteta has backed Kieran Tierney to eventually become Arsenal captain.

The Scotland international has been a revelation in north London since his move from Celtic in 2019 and impressed once again on Saturday during a 4-0 win at West Brom.

Tierney opened the scoring at the Hawthorns with a wonderful individual goal and has been a model of consistency this season while others have struggled around him.

Many believe he is the ideal candidate to one day take the armband at Arsenal and Arteta agrees that he has all the attributes to become skipper.

“I think he can be Arsenal captain as he has the respect and admiration of every member of the staff and every player,” said the Gunners’ boss. “It is just the way he is. He does it in a natural way.

“He is a really shy boy as well but he represents all of us in the club; all of the values that we want to instill and are in the DNA in this club.”

Tierney is a quiet figure off the pitch and has admitted he initially struggled to adjust to life in London after leaving boyhood club Celtic.

But on the pitch he is as vocal as they come and has certainly led by example this season with his performances, as he continues to impress.

“Since the moment I joined the club I have seen a player with enormous talent with the perfect attitude and commitment," said Arteta.

“He is a joy to work with and I am so happy for him for the way he scored [against West Brom] and everything he has put in to be better every day towards the team, towards the club.

“He has had some issues to adapt. We tried to help him. It was a challenge for him to leave his house as we all tried to help him.”

Arteta added: “He is shy and so humble. He came here and it took him a while. He had a really bad injury and was away from home but he is a natural leader.

“You see how he behaves on the pitch and when he talks he says the right thing. And he is exactly what we are looking for and I am so happy to have him in the team.

“He can still improve but he is a real threat in attack and really solid in defence.”

Alexandre Lacazette’s future will be decided in the summer, according to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

The France striker - who is Arsenal’s top scorer this season with nine goals - has less than 18 months remaining on his current contract and talks over an extension have yet to take place.

But Arteta, who saw Lacazette score twice on Saturday during his side’s 4-0 win at West Brom, says there is no rush to get the frontman tied down.

“We have not talked about anything related to his contract,” said the Spaniard. “I am delighted with the way he has performed because he is scoring, has the form and energy at the moment so he needs to keep doing that.

“We will talk in the summer and make a decision then.”

Lacazette has scored five goals in Arsenal’s last four games and was hugely influential as Arteta’s side made it three successive wins in the Premier League on Saturday with their convincing victory at West Brom.

He scored twice in the second half, adding to first-half strikes from Kieran Tierney and Bukayo Saka to cap another excellent all-round performance.

“He was great,” said Arteta. “He needed that confidence with the goals.

“His work rate is always there, he’s always fighting for the team but he needed that luck for the ball to land to him in the right moments.

“I think he’s in a great moment, we have to take advantage of that and give him minutes because it seems like he’s enjoying it.”

While Lacazette is enjoying a rich vein of form in front of goal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continues to endure his worst slump in years.

Arsenal’s skipper failed to score again on Saturday, meaning he has just goal in the league since netting a penalty against Manchester United on November 1.

But Arteta insists he is not concerned by his captain’s barren spell and has praised others for stepping up and finding the net in recent weeks.

“I keep saying, we can’t keep putting all the weight on Auba’s shoulders to score the goals,” he said. “We need contributions.

“The midfielders need to score more and give more assists, and we need goals from our wingers as well. Laca is in great form and has scored five goals in his last four games, which is what we need from our strikers.

“Auba had some chances to score on Saturday and it was the same in the last game or so, but I am so pleased because in the final third we looked lively and there was a lot of movement.

“There is good energy, there is a real purpose and everybody is playing forwards. It’s like we are free to play there and the understanding is allowing us to generate a lot of things there.”

Jurgen Klopp says he does not know if Liverpool will look to sign a centre-back this month, despite their injury troubles.

The Reds are currently without all three of their recognised, senior centre-halves, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez out with long-term knee injuries and Joel Matip recovering from an adductor problem.

Midfielder Fabinho has been filling in admirably in defence, with Klopp looking to coax performances out of two inexperienced players alongside the Brazilian. Rhys Williams, 19, made his Premier League debut against Tottenham last month, while Nathaniel Phillips has started three times in the league, including last week’s 0-0 draw at Newcastle.

Plenty, including former Reds star Jamie Carragher, have urged Liverpool to act in the transfer market, but club sources have indicated that it is unlikely that any major business will be conducted in January. Links with Lille’s Sven Botman have been dismissed.

Asked about the possibility of any incomings this month, Klopp told reporters: “We have solutions in the squad obviously but we struggled still with injuries. For most of the time with centre-half position, it can happen like this - when it starts, it does not stop.

“We have solutions with the squad but if we can do something in the window, I don’t know. It is like that.

“It is a very difficult transfer window, as you can imagine. Not all of the clubs have real money. Just doing something makes no sense. Doing the right thing makes sense. So far, we have really liked what we have done.”

Despite their issues, Liverpool remained top of the Premier League as 2021 got underway, and can open up a three-point gap with a win over Southampton at St Mary’s on Monday night.

That would be a valuable victory, with contenders – Manchester United and Manchester City especially – beginning to assemble behind them. Having won the title by some distance last season, Klopp is ready for a much closer race this time around.

“Yes, for sure,” he said. “Last season was very tough for us as well. It was not as though we thought, ‘Oh my god this is easy’. It was really tough and this year is tough again.

“I am not surprised it is that close. We have our situation and all the other clubs have their situation. Our season is so far so good. Not more, not less.

“We try to be ready for each game. Now Southampton will ask for different things. Then Aston Villa [in the FA Cup], then Man Utd.

“This season is a tough one for the supporters. If you are a neutral, you will love it, I am pretty sure because it will go to the wire probably, but it is tough for all of us - which is the reason why it is so close!”

Barcelona moved into LaLiga's top five after Frenkie de Jong's goal clinched a 1-0 victory over bottom club Huesca in Lionel Messi's 500th league appearance for the club.

Blaugrana boss Ronald Koeman, who warned before the game that defeat would all but end his side's title challenge, saw a much-improved Barcelona performance as he earned back-to-back LaLiga away wins for the first time in his tenure.

Messi came back into the side after missing Barca's disappointing 1-1 draw with Eibar due to an ankle injury and was at his talismanic best, deftly assisting De Jong's volleyed goal after just before the half-hour mark.

Huesca did open the visitors up on occasion and it remains to be seen whether Koeman can restore some consistency and style to this team, but they did enough here to climb above Sevilla in the table.

Barcelona's early pressure paid off after 27 minutes when Messi played an exquisite chipped pass into the box, where De Jong evaded two defenders and guided the ball into the corner of the net from six yards on the volley.

Messi would have capped a fine first-half performance with a superb goal five minutes from the interval had Alvaro Fernandez not pulled off a spectacular save, palming his dipping 20-yard free-kick over the crossbar.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner flashed a fierce effort narrowly wide from the edge of the box early in the second period, before Marc-Andre ter Stegen got down well to prevent Rafa Mir's close-range shot from becoming the equaliser.

Ousmane Dembele should have put the game beyond doubt when he went one-on-one with Fernandez 13 minutes from time, but the Huesca goalkeeper saved at his feet and then denied Messi again before full-time.

What does it mean? Six without defeat for Koeman's men

Barcelona's last LaLiga defeat came on December 5 against Cadiz and they have only lost two of their last 11 in the league – an improvement on their early-season form.

But it will take more than a narrow win over the division's strugglers to convince an unhappy fan base that Koeman has the answers to Barcelona's problems.

Fit-again Messi finding form

Messi looked desperate to mark his 500th LaLiga appearance and his 750th club outing for Barcelona with a goal but only two of his eight shots hit the target and none found the net. Nevertheless, the Argentinian was incredibly lively, as evidenced by his assist, match-high 16 duels and 113 touches of the ball, which was behind only Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

Wasteful Dembele misfires

Dembele saw plenty of the ball and some of Barcelona's better chances fell to him, but of his six shots one was blocked, three were saved, and two missed the target. While it is certainly a positive to see him getting opportunities, he will be disappointed not to have converted at least one of them given the quality of some of those openings.

Key Opta facts

- Lionel Messi has played his 500th game in LaLiga, 750th in all competitions. The Argentinian is the second player to reach both milestones for Barca after Xavi (505 in LaLiga and 767 in all competitions).
- Marc-Andre ter Stegen has saved four shots against Huesca and five versus Real Valladolid at Nuevo Jose Zorrilla, the most among Barca's away games in LaLiga this season. These games have been their most recent league wins on the road.
- The four goals by Frenkie de Jong for Barcelona have been scored in LaLiga, all of them in the first half, two of them assisted by Messi. The Argentinian player has assisted in back-to-back games across all competitions for the first time since June.
- Messi has had 20 shots from free-kicks in LaLiga this season, more than any other player in the top five European leagues – he has not scored any of them.
- Ousmane Dembele had six shots against Huesca, more than any other game in his 88 games for Barcelona in all competitions.

What's next?

Barcelona travel to Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday in the second of four consecutive away games in LaLiga, with the Basques looking to get off to a winning start under new coach Marcelino Garcia Toral. Huesca go to Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey a day later.

Phil Foden hailed the work of "genius" Pep Guardiola and outlined his plans to continue improving after inspiring Manchester City to a 3-1 victory against Chelsea.

The England international set up Ilkay Gundogan for City's first goal in Sunday's clash and swept home Kevin De Bruyne's cross for their second just 157 seconds later.

At 20 years and 220 days, he became the second youngest player to score and assist in a Premier League game against Chelsea since Jermain Defoe in September 2002.

Foden has now been directly involved in 14 Premier League goals – finding the net nine times himself and setting up five more for his team-mates.

That is as many as Manchester United legend Paul Scholes managed at the same age, only strengthening comparisons made between the pair.

He completed all 16 of his passes in the opposition half against Chelsea and created four chances, which is more than any other player on the field.

However, having struggled to hold down a place in the side this term, the City academy product is refusing to get too far ahead of himself.

"I still have a lot to learn," he said. "There's quality players here. Riyad Mahrez on the bench today could easily play. 

"There's quality players at the club and I just have to keep doing well each time and improving.

"The manager's praise means a lot when you put 100 per cent into a game. It feels nice. I'm enjoying my football and I want to keep enjoying it."

Foden started on the left side of a striker-less attack for a City side depleted by a coronavirus outbreak in their camp, leaving them without six squad members for the match.

The Citizens' victory was their third in a row in the Premier League, moving them to within four points of top spot with a game in hand, but was their first over one of last season's top-six finishers this term at the fifth attempt.

City dropped off in the second half and Callum Hudson-Odoi pulled one back for Chelsea in stoppage time, though Foden was delighted with his side's overall display at Stamford Bridge.

"It gives you the confidence, coming here and getting a result how we did," he said. "It gives everyone confidence in the training room and we want to keep pushing and playing like this more often.

"The first half was brilliant. To be three goals up, it's not always easy to go into the second half three goals up and play the same way. 

"You could probably tell the second half we dropped off a bit and let them have it. Overall it was a great performance and doesn't put us in a bad position with the games in hand.

"We've played good every game but just not finished our chances. Today was a brilliant performance and much more clinical in the final third.

"We had that little break after the last game and maybe that helped us out to have the energy today. It was a great performance, everyone played top today.

"We always have great tactics going into big games like this – Pep's a genius at things like this. 

"As you can tell we played the right way and we definitely done them staying high and wide and going down the flanks. It was something we did well."

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Juventus bounced back from their Fiorentina fiasco with a 4-1 win over Udinese at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday. 

Andrea Pirlo's side suffered a humiliating 3-0 home defeat to La Viola before the mid-season break, but they kicked off 2021 with a win that ensured the gap to Serie A leaders Milan remained at 10 points. 

Ronaldo put Juve ahead in the 31st minute with a fine strike after Udinese's Rodrigo de Paul had seen an effort ruled out by VAR. 

Federico Chiesa and Ronaldo then made sure Juve avoided going three consecutive home games without a win for the first time since 2015-16.

Marvin Zeegelaar snatched a consolation for Udinese, but Paulo Dybala had the final say in stoppage time.

Aaron Ramsey squandered a golden opportunity to give Juve a seventh-minute lead, the former Arsenal man firing straight at Juan Musso from inside the six-yard box.

Udinese almost punished Juve immediately, but De Paul's effort was ruled out following a VAR check for a handball earlier in the move.

Ronaldo burst into life shortly after the half-hour, racing into the area and cracking a low shot past Musso for his 13th league goal of the campaign.

Udinese's goalkeeper was beaten again in the 47th minute after Chiesa rolled in from Ronaldo's incisive pass.

A VAR check for handball denied Ramsey a goal five minutes later, while at the other end Jens Stryger Larsen crashed a header against Wojciech Szczesny's crossbar.

Ronaldo grabbed his second 20 minutes from time, coolly steering past Musso with his left foot, before Udinese pulled one back in the 90th minute when Zeegelaar – who had earlier hit the crossbar – lashed in from close range.

There was still time for Juve to add further gloss to a much-needed win, however, with Dybala clipping home with the final kick of the game.

What does it mean? Juve back up and running

It could have been very different had De Paul's early strike not been ruled out, but Juve were excellent value for all three points. They had 20 shots – 10 on target – to Udinese's 10 and enjoyed 63.1 per cent possession.

They will need to rely on lady luck if they are to claim a 10th consecutive Serie A title given Milan's healthy lead, but with Ronaldo leading the charge, anything is possible.

Relentless Ronaldo strikes again

He might be 35, but Ronaldo is showing no signs of slowing down. His first-half strike marked the 15th consecutive season he has plundered 20 goals for club and country.

Ronaldo followed that up with an assist and another goal to complete a wonderful individual performance, and he has now scored twice in six Serie A matches this season, a joint-record alongside Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski across the big five European leagues.

Dybala comes good at the death

Dybala's late goal might just be the confidence boost the Argentina international needs after a difficult start to the season.

The well-taken dink was just his second goal in Serie A this term and came at the end of a game in which he lost possession a whopping 21 times – eight more than any other Juve player.

Key Opta Facts

- Ronaldo has 14 goals from his first 11 Serie A appearances this term. Only in 2014-15 with Real Madrid in LaLiga has he managed more after the same amount of matches.
- Since he joined Juve in 2018-19, Ronaldo has scored the first goal of game in 21 Serie A encounters – more than any other player in the competition during this period.
- Ronaldo has provided 15 assists in Serie A: 14 of them have been served at the Allianz Stadium.
- Matthijs de Ligt has made his 50th appearance for Juve in all competitions.
- Marvin Zeegelaar is the first Dutch player to score against Juve in Serie A since Milan's Clarence Seedorf back in May 2009.

What's next?

Pirlo's men have the opportunity to close the gap to the Serie A summit when they face leaders Milan on Wednesday, while Udinese travel to Bologna on the same day.

Chennaiyin and Hyderabad will be looking to turn their season around when they face each other in a mid-table clash at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim, on Monday evening.

TV CHANNELS & LIVE STREAM

The Star Sports Network have the exclusive broadcasting rights of the ISL in India.

Commentary will also be available in vernacular languages across India.

 TEAM NEWS

Chennaiyin Possible XI:   

Injured - Rafael Crivellaro
Doubtful - None
Suspended - None

Key Players - Isma, Anirudh Thapa

Hyderabad Possible XI: 

Injured - Nikhil Poojari
Doubtful - Liston Colaco
Suspended - None

Key Players - Aridane Santana, Halicharan Narzary  

Pep Guardiola has told critics of Benjamin Mendy they should look in the mirror after the Manchester City left-back was caught breaking coronavirus rules. 

As the virus surges in the UK, Mendy broke government rules by mixing households during a New Year's Eve party on Thursday night.

Following the breach, Man City released a statement expressing their "disappointment" in the France defender.

"While it is understood that elements of this incident have been misinterpreted in the reports, and that the player has publicly apologised for his error, the club is disappointed to learn of the transgression and will be conducting an internal investigation," the statement read. 

Despite the club's disappointment, Guardiola still named Mendy to his matchday squad on Sunday as City defeated Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge. 

Speaking at his post-game press conference after Mendy was an unused sub, Guardiola hit out at critics of the 26-year-old's actions.

"He had good intentions with the heart that he has, but he has to understand some things. He invited two or three people on New Year's Eve, they all tested negative, but they were at his house. I would like to know how many people had five or six people at home on New Year’s Eve, I’m pretty sure many," Guardiola said.

"Normally in society we judge the other one, it would be better if we judge ourselves. I’m pretty sure Benjamin will improve on that and next time he will be more careful.

"He broke the rules, I’m not justifying it, he cannot do it. But don’t give lessons to the other ones, don’t put examples from the players for society. We all have to do what we have to do.

"Of course it was not correct what he has done, but don’t judge him too much, if we look at what we have done New Year's Eve, many, many people have maybe done the same.

"It’s easy to judge others."

Guardiola added that he never considered leaving Mendy out of his squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge. 

"He’s part of the group, he’s one of the good guys, he's beloved in our group, he was one of the most active players in the stands. He's a special guy for all of us and he has an incredible heart," the Spaniard said.

Amad Diallo shared a photo of his flight to Rome on Sunday as the Atalanta teenager prepared to officially become a Manchester United player. 

Diallo, 18, agreed to a move to Old Trafford worth up to £37 million ($48m) over the summer. 

But the clubs agreed to keep the youngster in Italian football until he was granted a work permit in the United Kingdom. 

The Ivorian has since received an Italian passport and, as United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed, has cleared the last legal obstacles preventing him becoming a United player. 

"We have had all the paperwork, I can't see any obstacles. He's coming," Solskjaer told reporters following the Reds' 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Friday.

"I hope very soon he will be with us. I'm very excited about bringing him in. I think he's shown a few times his qualities.

"Of course he has to learn to play in England, that's a different level of football. We'll give him time to develop and to express himself.

"Apart from that, I'm not really thinking too much on what we're going to do with players. Of course, we're always working long-term. That's the big thing. We have targets we need long-term for the club."

On Sunday Diallo posted from the plane purportedly flying him to the Italian capital in order to complete the final paperwork ahead of confirmation of the transfer. 

Reports suggest that the teenager will then fly to Manchester in the coming days to join up with his new team-mates. 

Atalanta were keen to hold on to their young gem until at least the end of the season, but coach Gian Piero Gasperini conceded that such a prospect now looked impossible. 

"It's difficult because Manchester United want him to join the club immediately in January," Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.

"Amad has received his passport."

Diallo has made two appearances for Atalanta in the 2020-21 season and overall has played five senior competitive matches, with his first and only goal to date coming against Udinese in October 2019.

Besiktas returned to the summit of Turkey’s Super Lig as Georges-Kevin N'Koudou’s 89th minute goal inspired a 2-0 win over 10-man Kayserispor on Sunday.

The Black Eagles who have won their last four games came to the Kadir Has Stadium with the ambition of continuing their winning streak which would brighten their title ambitions.

French winger of Cameroonian descent N’Koudou presented the visitors with a chance to take a 12th minute lead after he was fouled in the penalty area by Dimitrios Kolovetsios. However, Ghana international Bernard Mensah missed the ensuing kick as goalkeeper Dogan Alemdar guessed the right way.

In the cagey first-half, chances were few as both teams went into the locker room after 45 minutes.

Knowing that anything short of victory would spell doom for their title hopes, Besiktas came out stronger in the second-half, yet were unable to break down the dogged hosts who relied on counter attacks.

Nonetheless, their breakthrough came in the 87th minute after goal-bound Congolese star Fabrice N'Sakala was brought down in the danger area by a clumsy tackle by one of the hosts’ defenders. After several VAR replays, referee Firat Aydinus pointed to the penalty spot.

The resultant kick was taken by the 25-year-old and he sent Alemdar the wrong way to hand Sergen Yalcin’s men the lead.

Super-sub Ajdin Hasic guaranteed all points for the visiting team by sending a low shot past the goalkeeper after capitalising on a defensive mishap by the Anatolian Star who had gone upfront in search of an equaliser.

Before the final whistle was sounded, manager Samet Aybaba had his men reduced to 10 after Miguel Lopes was given his marching orders for a second caution.

Despite his penalty miss, Mensah gave a good account of himself before he was substituted for Necip Uysal in the 77th minute, while N'Koudou who has now scored two goals in the 2020-21 season was in action from start to finish alongside N'Sakala. Cameroon's Vincent Aboubakar was not listed for action.

For the hosts, Ghana’s Yaw Ackah saw every minute of action as Congo’s Harrison Manzala replaced Pedro Henrique with 13 minutes left to play.

Franck Kessie found the back of the net as AC Milan defeated Benevento 2-0 in Sunday’s Serie A game.

The 24-year-old was afforded his 13th league start and made the most of the opportunity to register his fifth goal in the division this season.

The Ivory Coast international formed a two-man midfield along with Sandro Tonali for the Red and Blacks in the encounter.

Kessie wasted no time to announce himself in the match when he opened the scoring for the San Siro outfit in the 15th minute from the penalty spot.

Stefano Pioli’s men suffered a setback when they were reduced to 10 men after Tonali was given his marching orders after a reckless challenge on Artur Ionita.

Despite the one-man shortage, Milan continued to push for a second goal and deservedly got it in the 49th minute when Rafael Leao fired home his effort after he was set up by Ante Rebic.

Benevento were awarded a penalty moments after the hour mark but Gianluca Caprari failed to find the back of the net with his strike.

Despite the effort from the Sorcerers to try and avoid defeat, AC Milan held on to their lead to secure all three points.

Kessie featured for the duration of the game in his 14th league appearance this season for the Red and Blacks.

Algeria international Ismael Bennacer was not involved in the game as well as Ivory Coast’s Siriki Sanogo and Ghana’s Abdallah Basit.

The victory propelled AC Milan to the top of the league table after gathering 37 points from 15 games.

Kessie will hope to continue his impressive performances when AC Milan take on Juventus in their next league game on January 6.

The 24-year-old has been with the Red and Blacks since 2017, initially on loan before the deal was made permanent.

The midfielder has since featured in more than 120 league games for the Italian giants, scoring 21 goals, amid other dazzling performances.

Lionel Messi made his 500th La Liga appearance and 750th in all competitions for Barcelona in Sunday's meeting with Huesca after returning to Ronald Koeman's starting line-up.

Messi missed Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Eibar after he was given an extended break over Christmas to nurse an ankle problem.

However, Koeman confirmed on Saturday that the 33-year-old had trained on during the week, and Messi subsequently returned to Barca's starting XI for a landmark outing at Estadio El Alcoraz.

While he wasn't able to mark the milestone with a goal, the Argentine did provide an assist for Frenkie de Jong as Barca recorded a much-needed 1-0 victory.

Messi's 500 league appearances for Barca is five short of the club record held by former team-mate Xavi, who also holds the record for all-time appearances for the Blaugrana with 767. 

Xavi's total is 17 more than Messi's current tally of 750, including Sunday's game.

He is only the second player, and the first born outside of Spain, to reach the landmark for Barca, with Andres Iniesta completing the podium having made 442 La Liga appearances during his time at Camp Nou.

The record for the most matches ever played in La Liga is held by former goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, with 662 games under his belt for Athletic Club, Barca and Valencia.

Barca made the trip to Huesca unbeaten in five league matches, but they had drawn two of their last three and entered the game 13 points adrift of leaders Atletico Madrid, who benefited from a last-minute winner from Luis Suarez to beat Alaves earlier on Sunday.

Messi was sorely missed last week, when he watched from the stands as the Catalans were held 1-1 at home to Eibar to fall further off the pace at the top of the table.

And while Sunday's win trims the deficit to 10, Barca's title hopes already seem extremely faint after they surrendered the crown to Real Madrid in 2019-20 having led going into the coronavirus-imposed season recess in March.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard insisted he is not worried about being sacked after his side lost 3-1 at home to Manchester City on Sunday.

The Blues have won just one of their last seven Premier League matches and sit eighth in the table, seven points behind Liverpool having played a game more than the reigning champions.

Pressure is building on the former Chelsea and England midfielder, but he does not fear losing his job at this point.

"I am not going to speak for the people above or the board," he said at a press conference after the match.

"I can't answer about my contract, the run and the difficult results, I can only speak as the manager of the club."

He added: "I am not concerned on that. I just spoke to the team after the game about how I expected periods of difficulty. I know it doesn't come easy.

"A month ago, people were discussing when was I going to get a new contract. Pressure remains constant. My job is to keep working and pick up the players.

"I had tough periods last year. Maybe I had some mitigating circumstances so people didn't view them the same but I had a really good run in November and we lost three home games in December that we controlled.

"We lost 1-0, 2-0, 1-0 and to me they felt tough and rough. I am a perfectionist who wants the best for this club.

"The first person who puts on the pressure is me. At times, last year, I wanted to push and be even better than fourth, even though I felt it was an achievement considering the ban and the youth in the squad.

"This season the 16-game unbeaten run was something I was always trying to temper as it went on. We breezed through our Champions League group.

"I didn't take much notice of that because I felt that with the players and the way they were playing that we should get through and we showed some really good form."

Lampard added that he expects his side will take some time to reach their best, as injuries and inexperience have contributed to Chelsea's recent downturn in form. 

"At the minute, we are in a tough period. I understand it as I played here for a long time. I understand the minute that you lose a few games in a short period of time then everyone looks and asks questions," Lampard said.

"Then everyone looks at it differently and says you spent that much money. Well, the reality is that a lot of the players who came in are young, new, have been injured, not played together before.

"I haven't been able to play [Hakim] Ziyech, [Christian] Pulisic or Timo Werner in the same team. If we are expecting the relationship between them three to be the same as [Raheem] Sterling, [Kevin] De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva today then there are expectations that are not real.

"The expectations after Leeds that we are title contenders was not real. I am real now in saying the club has to take pain for where we want to get to. Any build or rebuild that we have with the players we brought in takes pain. That means pain on the pitch, pain behind the scenes and fight and character.

"That's how you build. Pep Guardiola in year one at Man City, an incredible coach comes in and there's tough times. We know the story with Man City and Liverpool.

"I am not putting myself on that level because I have to show that in a few years time and I have to show it. I can only talk about us and I can say this is a difficult period.

"I understand the reasons why and we have to keep fighting. I am the first person who needs to keep fighting."

Chelsea are in action again next Sunday when they face Morecambe in the FA Cup.

Leandra Smeda shone for Famalicao as they beat Gil Vicente 3-1 in Sunday's Portuguese Liga BPI tie at Campo Futebol Carapecos.

The South Africa international joined Famalicao as a free agent in November, and after one year she parted ways with Swedish outfit, Vittsjo.

Having penned a one-year contract, the former Gintra Universitetas star was handed her debut as a substitute in Portugal. 

Having finished the first round on top, the newly-promoted side continued from where they left off on a high as Solange Carvalhas gave the visitors the lead after just 21 minutes of action.

A minute from the break, the unbeaten visitors maintained their push for more goals and found a breakthrough through Mariana Azevedo.

Three minutes after the restart, Famalicao extended their lead when Solange Carvalhas bagged her brace before the South African was introduced as a replacement for Maria Negrao.

Gil Vicente, however, fought in an attempt for a possible comeback but could only pull one back in the 71st minute through Lea Pires.

Smeda was in action for the final 29 minutes of the match against Vicente after she replaced  Negrao in the 61st minute.

The victory keeps Famalicao on top of the north zone with 27 points after the first round and guaranteed them a spot in the second phase along with Sporting Braga, Clube Albergaria and Condeixa.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard acknowledged that he was given a sharp jolt of reality as the Blues capitulated at home to Manchester City on Sunday. 

Lampard's charges have been in torrid form since the start of December, following up a run of nine unbeaten Premier League games with four defeats in their last six outings. 

The latest, a 3-1 reverse at Stamford Bridge at the hands of City, was concerning not just for the result but also the subdued display offered by the hosts. 

Chelsea mustered just two shots on target to give debutant goalkeeper Zack Steffen a quiet afternoon between the posts, and only troubled the scorers late into injury time through Callum Hudson-Odoi when the game was already out of reach. 

And with the Blues having slipped down to eighth as a result of their recent woes, Lampard admits that the pressure is on. 

"I am not putting ourselves down. I am the man to have the reality check and there will be work and at times pain," the manager explained to BBC Sport after the final whistle.

"Today was painful in the first half in football terms because their level of play shows where we need to aspire to. In the second half I saw a reaction but the work needs to be done."

When asked what was to blame for defeat, Lampard answered: "Mistakes, individual mistakes, not getting close enough. They punished us. If you want to reach the top level which City have been for a few years now you have to accept the pressures. The second half we competed but at 3-0 the game was pretty much done.

"I am not trying to talk up the last 20 minutes of the game because at 3-0 the vitals of the game have changed but I was still looking for a reaction."

The Blues boss added to Sky Sports: "For 10 minutes we were good, then they started to play and we concede two poor goals back to back in the game. It knocked us and we didn't react well. We allowed the space for Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan for the first goal. Serious lessons in the first half, good character in the second half but then the game was done.

"Everyone a month ago saying we could win the league I was pretty sure in terms of a rebuild, the ban and the youth that there were going to be periods of pain we were going to go through. When a team gives you a problem it has to be dealt with but we didn't."