Germany's WCup heroes take to silver screen

Memories of Germany's World Cup triumph will be rekindled on Monday when 'Die Mannschaft' (The Team) hits cinemas and Joachim Loew's squad receive the country's highest sports award.

After the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Sunday, Germany's capital is preparing to relive the football-mad nation's Brazil 2014 triumph.

The 90-minute long movie gets its premiere when the behind-the-scenes story of Germany's fourth World Cup triumph is told.

Earlier on Monday, the 23-man squad, who clinched the title in Brazil, will receive the Silver Laurel Leaf – the country's top award for sports success – from president Joachim Gauck at his Schloss Bellevue residence.

Loew's squad will also receive their official World Cup winners badge from football's governing body Fifa which they will wear for their Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar on November 14 and away friendly in Spain four days later.

The documentary, which goes on general release next Wednesday, promises to tell the story from Germany's pre-World Cup training camp in north Italy through to their extra-time victory over Argentina at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Maracana.

The project was filmed by the German Football Federation (DFB), who had planned to use the footage for motivation purposes, but was turned into a documentary after Germany's triumph.

"Brazil have Neymar, Argentina have Messi, Portugal have Ronaldo, Germany have a team," is the quote from England captain Steven Gerrard following Germany's 7-1 semifinal drubbing of hosts Brazil which opens 'Die Mannschaft'.

As well as footage of team talks, motivational sessions and player interviews, the film promises to capture some of the pranks and humour from within the squad.

A teaser clip shows winger Thomas Mueller wearing a traditional Bavarian Dirndl dress as a forfeit at a team breakfast.

"Abroad, everyone calls us 'The Mannschaft'," explained team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

"The film gets across all the emotions we experienced during the World Cup. I told the crew to shoot it as if we would become world champions.

"We hope to bring the World Cup closer to our fans again and show a different side of how the team experienced the World Cup. And, of course, we want to show a few goals."

Oliver Bierhoff, the team manager, has promised there will be a "few fireworks" at the premiere and the film will be on sale as a DVD just before Christmas.

The proceeds will go to the foundations of both the DFB and Fifa, who waived their right to the material in order for the film to be made.

The documentary of Germany's 2006 World Cup campaign as hosts made 4.1 million euros when the film "Germany, a summer fairytale" went on release and the majority of the money went to a children's charity.

Dortmund wait on sick pair, Kruse back

Borussia Dortmund are waiting on the sickly Marco Reus and Roman Weidenfeller for Sunday's Bundesliga clash at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach, who welcome back fellow Germany squad member Max Kruse.

Dortmund are desperate for a win after five straight league defeats, having begun the weekend second from bottom of the table, while Gladbach started third from top behind leaders Bayern Munich and second-placed VfL Wolfsburg.

But both Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller and winger Reus are struggling to be fit having been laid low with gastroenteritis.

"And the inflammation is very bad," added Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.

Kruse, Weidenfeller and Reus, who has scored five goals in all competitions so far this season, were included in the Germany squad for next Friday's Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar on 14 November, and the friendly away to Spain four days later.

Dortmund are looking to transfer their excellent European form to their dire Bundesliga campaign after four straight wins in the Champions League compared to just two wins in 10 domestic league matches and seven points from a possible 30.

Klopp says he wants another performance like Tuesday's 4-1 win over Galatasaray in Europe and less like Dortmund's below-par showing in league defeats to Hamburg, Cologne, Hanover and Schalke in recent weeks.

"We're planning on not showing so much of a difference, we want to build on Tuesday's performance," explained the 47-year-old.

Gladbach coach Lucien Favre has included Kruse after the striker sat out Thursday's Europa League win at Cyprus' Apollon Limassol with a leg knock.

The guests are looking to set a new club record of 18 matches unbeaten since the start of the season.

"Dortmund are still a great team, even if they currently aren't getting good results in the league," said Swiss coach Favre.

Both attacking midfielders Andre Hahn and Patrick Hermann, who scored their late second goal in the 2-0 win at Apollon, are fit having scored three goals between them in last Sunday's 3-1 league win over Hoffenheim.

Mueller hat-trick gives Bayern victory

Thomas Mueller scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich won 4-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt to increase its overnight lead in the Bundesliga to seven points on Saturday.

Franck Ribery set up Mueller's first two, crossing for the World Cup winner to open the scoring in the 22nd minute and then again to finish a counterattack in the 64th. Mueller completed his hat-trick three minutes later and Xherdan Shaqiri completed the scoring in the 86th.

"We're not playing badly at the moment. We're playing to a particular concept, no matter who's playing. We have talent coming off the bench," Mueller said. "We also have excellent individual players who can make the difference."

Bayern is unbeaten, with eight wins from 11 games, 27 goals scored and just three conceded. The defending champion's closest rivals, Wolfsburg and Borussia Moenchengladbach, were both playing their 11th-round games on Sunday.

Elsewhere Saturday, Schalke disappointed in a 2-0 defeat at Freiburg, Bayer Leverkusen was held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by visiting Mainz, Augsburg beat promoted Paderborn 3-0 and Cologne won 4-3 at Hoffenheim.

Bottom side Werder Bremen was hosting fellow struggler Stuttgart in the late game.

Frankfurt made an encouraging start against the league leader but Bayern's sheer quality ensured what transpired to be a comfortable victory.

"The whole world is finding it tough to get something from Bayern," Frankfurt midfielder Marco Russ said.

Ribery played a one-two with Robert Lewandowski before cutting the ball back for Mueller, who scored at the second attempt, with his right knee, after his initial effort was blocked on the line by Bastian Oczipka.

Mueller thought he'd scored again shortly afterward, only for the effort to be pulled back for offside.

Frankfurt finished the first half strongly and Alexander Meier forced a good save from Manuel Neuer in the 41st.

The home side also started the second half courageously, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Mueller claimed his second. Philipp Lahm played the ball over the top and Ribery squared it for Mueller to shoot inside the far post.

He completed his hat-trick minutes later, when Mario Goetze helped the ball on after a Ribery throw in.

Bayern's three substitutes were all involved in the last goal. Arjen Robben ran at the home defense and was thwarted by Frankfurt keeper Felix Wiedwald before he played it back to Sebastian Rode. Shaqiri then deflected Rode's effort past the helpless goalkeeper.

"The fans were with us and we delivered a good game. It's a shame that the score was so high," Frankfurt's US international defender Timmy Chandler said.

It was Frankfurt's fourth league loss in a row and its fifth including the German Cup. Tough games await with Borussia Moenchengladbach and then Borussia Dortmund the next opponents.

Freiburg followed up its first win of the season last weekend by claiming a deserved second against Schalke.

Christian Guenter opened the scoring in the 22nd after Sidney Sam lost the ball in midfield.

Jonathan Schmid came agonisingly close to scoring on the hour, when Ralf Faehrmann pushed his effort onto the crossbar, but the Frenchman went one better in the 68th, when he capitalised on a poor clearance from Dennis Aogo to make it 2-0.

Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius made a number of saves to deny Leverkusen, which had 24 efforts at goal, a Bundesliga high this season.

"We're playing well in the Champions League and we're well positioned there," Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt said. "We're playing well in the Bundesliga but we're not well positioned there. We need to change that."

In Augsburg, Tobias Werner scored in the seventh minute for the home side and he made it 2-0 with a diving header early in the second half, when Paderborn's defense left him unmarked. The Augsburg midfielder also created his side's third, with a free kick for Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker to score with a header in the 68th.

Hoffenheim got off to a flying start against Cologne when Adam Szalai scored early, only for Pawel Olkowski to equalize three minutes later.

Matthias Lehmann then put the visitors ahead seven minutes after that with a free kick inside the right post, and Anthony Ujah made it 3-1 after a strong run in the 35th.

Roberto Firmino pulled one back for Hoffenheim four minutes later and the Brazilian equalized with a header before halftime.

However, Olkowski scored Cologne's winner with his second in the 83rd.

Barca boss backs Pique

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said on Friday that defender Gerard Pique is working hard in training to win his place back amid rumours that he could be looking to move away from the club.

Pique was left out of the squad last weekend in the home defeat against Celta Vigo and he was an used substitute in the mid-week Champions League victory over Ajax Amsterdam.

Luis Enrique refused to confirm that the defender will face Almeria on Saturday in La Liga, where the Catalan side badly need a win to get back on track having slipped down to fourth in the table following back-to-back losses.

"We will have to see. He is doing his best in training and all that a footballer can to play," the irate coach told a news conference in Barcelona after being questioned persistently about the player in recent weeks.

"The team was not fixed at the start of the season and depending on the form of players on a game to game basis I will pick the side. Rotating the players will help us come the end of the campaign."

Pique was heralded as one of Europe's top centre backs after returning to Barcelona from Manchester United in 2008, elegantly bringing the ball out of defence in Pep Guardiola's all-conquering side, which won three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies.

Recently, however, he seems to have lost his way when – at the age of 27 – he should be at his peak.

Last season Barca failed to win a major trophy and the defence as a whole struggled. Pique looked laboured and vulnerable when run at, while there was an on-going debate about his attitude.

His last La Liga match was the 3-1 defeat by Real Madrid when he conceded a penalty by clumsily handling the ball.

He was then seen on the substitutes' bench in a regional cup game against Espanyol using his mobile phone for long spells.

Several Premier League clubs are said to be interested in bringing him back to England, according to reports, but Luis Enrique denied he was looking to offload the player.

"I won't talk any more about this," he said.

"I am happy with the players that I have. Luckily this season I haven't seen any players with the wrong attitude. If I saw it as has been the case in other seasons when players haven't been concentrated then I would act upon it."

Cordoba held by Deportivo

Cordoba squandered a great chance to finally end their 42-year wait for their first win in Spain's first division when they were held 0-0 at home by 10-man Deportivo La Coruna on Friday.

Cordoba, who returned to the topflight for the first time since 1972 last season, remained in last place and the only winless team in the Spanish league through 11 rounds.

Forward Federico Cartabia wasted Cordoba's best scoring opportunity in the 16th minute when his penalty was saved by goalkeeper Fabricio Agosto after Helder Postiga pulled down Daniel Pinillos in the area.

That foul earned Postiga his first booking and the Portugal striker earned a second yellow card in the 29th after trading shoves with Cordoba's Inigo Lopez.

Suarez inspires Barca revival at Almeria

Two assists from Luis Suarez inspired Barcelona to come from behind and snap a two-game losing streak in La Liga with a 2-1 win at Almeria on Saturday.

Suarez had started the game on the bench alongside Neymar as Barca boss Luis Enrique made five changes from the side that defeated Ajax 2-0 in midweek.

However, both men were called into action at halftime after Thievy Bifouma had fired Almeria into the lead eight minutes before the break.

Suarez squared for Neymar to level the scores 18 minutes from time and his cross then teed up Jordi Alba to seal the three points nine minutes later.

Victory takes Barca a point ahead of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, but Los Blancos can reclaim top spot when they host Rayo Vallecano later on Saturday.

Enrique's decision to make a host of changes handed Pedro Rodriguez and Munir El Haddadi a start alongside Lionel Messi in attack.

But they did little to justify their selection, although Munir did force Ruben Martinez into a low save after the Almeria 'keeper had blocked Messi's effort from close range.

Martinez had to be at his best to stop Barca taking the lead just before the half hour mark as he scrambled to keep out Ivan Rakitic's downward header and from the rebound Messi nodded onto the crossbar.

However, the visitors were caught out eight minutes before halftime as Messi lost possession deep inside the Almeria half and with one pass Barca were undone as Jonathan Soriano released Thievy and he raced past Bartra before calmly slotting past Bravo.

Enrique had seen enough in the first 45 minutes and swiftly introduced Suarez and Neymar for Munir and Pedro at the break.

It took 15 minutes for the substitutes to make an impact as Suarez acrobatically volleyed against the bar at the back post from a corner.

Suarez was the creator when Barca did eventually level as he turned his marker just inside the area and squared for Neymar to turn the ball home via a deflection off Ximo Navarro.

The Uruguayan was inches away from his first Barca goal moments later as he spun and sent a low shot just beyond Martinez's far post.

Suarez then teed up Messi to sent another looping header off the crossbar as the pressure from the Catalans continued.

And they found the winner eight minutes from the end when after another burst from Suarez down the right he picked out the late arriving Alba from left-back to bundle home his first goal of the season.

Messi's quest to become the joint top goalscorer in La Liga history was frustrated once more by Martinez in stoppage time, but Barca saw the game out to return to winning ways after back-to-back league defeats against Real Madrid and Celta Vigo.

Eagles set to take on Brazil

African champions, Nigeria, will play host to five-time World Cup winners, Brazil in an international friendly on 29 March, 2015, supersport.com can report.

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick disclosed that the federation has got the green light from its match agent and that the Super Eagles will go up against the South American nation in a warm-up match.

"The plan of this NFF is to bring A-grade matches to the Akwa Ibom International Stadium. This federation's plan is to bring the best of football to the country, in order to help showcase our talented footballers to the whole world. In fact we just got a letter from our partner stating that we will be playing Brazil on 29 March next year.

"Also, on 24 March, which is a Fifa window, we are looking at tying down a friendly and already we have proposals to play Turkey, and Ukraine. But we will make a decision on that and choose one," revealed Pinnick.

Akwa Ibom State governor Godswill Akpabio had lifted the lid on the Brazil friendly when he announced the friendly for next year in his speech to open the Nest of Champions on Friday.

In June 2003 when Nigeria played hosts to Brazil in an international friendly at the National Stadium in Abuja, the South Americans triumphed 3-0.

Ricardinho scored twice while Ronaldinho also got among the goals in that game.

Dimgba ecstatic over Eagles debut

Warri Wolves midfielder Stanley Dimgba says he is over the moon to have made his Super Eagles debut against the Black Meteors of Ghana in an international friendly on Friday.

Nigeria's home-based Super Eagles beat Ghana's Under-23 team (Black Meteors) 1-0 through an Emem Uduok goal in the 35th minute of a well attended game to commission the newly built Akwa Ibom International Stadium.

Dimgba, who came on in added time of the second half told supersport.com that it was a dream come true for him to don Nigeria's colors.

"I can't describe how I felt when I was about coming on. It felt like it was a dream. I was over the moon," he said after the game.

"This has been my dream and I'm glad it has come through. Since I was a kid, I dreamt of this day and to see it happen is absolutely fantastic.

"Nigeria is blessed with a lot of quality players and to be here and play is a great feeling. I'll cherish this memory forever," Dimgba added.

The former Plateau United player, who has been in great form for Warri Wolves this season wants to continue to feature for the Eagles after having a taste of the national team's set up.

Dimgba feels he has to continue to work hard on his game to get a look-in with the national team.

"Being in camp with all these players is very different from the club scene. I really enjoyed my time and I will cherish the experience.

"I'm happy we won the game. It was quite difficult because we just came together for about three days to prepare while the Ghanaian team has been in camp for two weeks.

"I have to continue to work hard to be noticed by the national team handlers. I want more of this wonderful experience and the only way to make this happen is by working my socks off," Dimgba enthused.

Super-sub Long keeps Saints flying high

Southampton striker Shane Long came off the bench to bag a brace as the Premier League high-fliers clinched a 2-0 win over Leicester on Saturday.

Long netted twice in the space of five minutes late in the second half at St Mary's and the Republic of Ireland star's first league goals for the club ensured the Saints will remain second in the table heading into the international break.

Despite a turbulent close-season marked by the departure of five key players and manager Mauricio Pochettino, Southampton have been in inspired form under new boss Ronald Koeman.

They have won eight of their last nine league matches and are starting to believe they could claim a shock place in the Champions League via a top-four finish.

Leicester proved obdurate opponents but Nigel Pearson's team couldn't hold out and they remain in the relegation zone after their sixth defeat of the season.

Southampton striker Graziano Pelle had the first chance when his effort was blocked from just inside the penalty area.

With torrential rain lashing down at St Mary's, quality play was at a premium from both sides in the first half.

Sadio Mane provided a rare moment of quality when the Senegal winger fired just over from a tight angle after his cross came back off Marcin Wasilewski.

Saints suffered a blow when midfielder Steven Davis limped off to be replaced by Jack Cork just before the break.

But Cork almost made an immediate impact when he turned on Victor Wanyama's pass, only to scuff his shot wide from the edge of the area.

Leicester had failed to score in four of their last five league matches and forwards Leonardo Ulloa and Jamie Vardy were both anonymous in the first half.

Pelle started the second half by lashing a first-time strike over the bar after good play from Mane down the left flank.

Moments later Mane turned in Ryan Bertrand's cross but the winger's effort was correctly ruled out for offside.

Pelle couldn't keep his shot on target and Bertrand brought a routine save from Kasper Schmeichel as the hosts pressed for the opening goal.

Koeman sent on Long in place of Mane in the 67th minute and it took just eight minutes for the switch to reap a rich reward.

Cork floated a pass into Pelle from the right and the Italian held off his marker long enough to tee up Long to bend a left-foot shot into the far corner from the edge of the area.

Long sealed the points in the 80th minute when he sprinted onto a long ball over the top of the Leicester defence, beating the offside trap to calmly slot past Schmeichel.

Villa snatch point in draw with West Ham

Aston Villa ended an appalling run of form and snatched a vital point on Saturday, holding on for a hard-earned 0-0 draw against West Ham in the Premier League.

Villa centre backs Ron Vlar and Nathan Baker stoutly marshalled the visitors' defence, and the result ended a six-match losing streak for Villa.

West Ham dominated and had plenty of chances to win at Upton Park, but slopping finishing and resolute Villa defending prevented the home side from scoring.

West Ham squandered numerous opportunities, with midfielder Stewart Downing and striker Enner Valencia forcing fine saves from Villa keeper Brad Guzan, and Diafra Sakho heading several times over the crossbar.

Guzan kept out a goal-bound header from substitute Andy Carroll, playing his first match of the season following an ankle injury.

Barnes header gives Burnley win

Burnley beat Hull 1-0 on Saturday to finally claim its first Premier League victory of the season after 11 games.

The Clarets went ahead at Turf Moor through a 50th-minute goal from Ashley Barnes who headed in a cross from Kieran Trippier.

Newly promoted Burnley remained bottom of the league with seven points -two from safety. Queens Park Rangers, which hosted Manchester City later Saturday, also has seven points.

Hull played the last 20 minutes with only 10 men after its captain Curtis Davies was forced off with an injury when his side had already made three substitutions.

Hull, which has not scored in three straight games, stayed two points clear of the drop zone in 14th place.

Saturday Football: Live Blog

Welcome to our live coverage of football with six Barclays Premier League encounters and the Telkom Knockout semifinal between Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United. Catch the action live on SS3 HD and SS4 HD as well as live streaming on supersport.com.

 Live Scores

The focus today will no doubt be on the 2:45pm kick-off between Liverpool and Chelsea. That will be followed by four fixtures at 5pm and then the last one for the day at 7:30pm. In SA, the focus will be on the semifinal clash between Pirates and SuperSport at Orlando Stadium.

Selected matches will be broadcast live and will also available via live streaming.

Follow the action right here and use #SSFootball to leave your comments on Twitter. We'll pull the best of them into our coverage below.

Soriano hat-trick puts Salzburg in last 32

Jonatan Soriano's love affair with the Europa League continued as last season's top scorer grabbed a hat-trick on Thursday to help Salzburg become one of four teams to reach the knockout stages.

Soriano, one of the hottest goalscoring properties in Europe, took his season's tally to 21 in 17 Europa League and Austrian Bundesliga games after a 5-1 win at Dinamo Zagreb that put Salzburg top of the pile in Group D.

Dynamo Moscow, Fiorentina and Legia Warsaw can also enjoy the final two rounds of group matches safe in the knowledge their berths in the last 32 are assured.

The Russian side kept up their perfect record with a 1-0 win over Estoril in Group E, as did Legia who beat Metalist Kharkiv 2-1 in Group L.

Fiorentina, who had also won their opening three games, progressed despite being held to a 1-1 draw by PAOK Salonika.

Austrian champions Salzburg were one of a number of sides who went into the fourth round of matches knowing victory could put them through and they had the goalscoring prowess of Soriano to thank for settling the issue.

The 29-year-old Spaniard, who hit eight goals in last season's competition, moved on to five this term while strikes from Kevin Kampl and Massimo Bruno handed Salzburg their biggest away win in European competition.

Fiorentina's Europa League form has been a welcome tonic following their struggles in Serie A where they have managed only three wins from 10 games and lie 10th in the table.

They looked like falling to their first defeat in the Europa League when Maarten Martens put PAOK ahead with nine minutes remaining but captain Manuel Pasqual curled home a brilliant free kick at the end to rescue a draw.

That left Fiorentina top of Group K with 10 points and through to the last 32 by virtue of a better head-to-head record against PAOK who are third on four points.

THICK FOG

Celtic's Group D clash with FC Astra in Romania looked in danger of being called off as thick fog enveloped the stadium.

The match went ahead though and the Scottish outfit missed out on a guaranteed place in the next stage of the competition after conceding a late equaliser to draw 1-1 in their 300th European game.

Celtic, who have eight points and are two behind group leaders Salzburg, could still be caught by third-placed Dinamo (three).

It was a similar story for Inter Milan who began the day knowing victory over St Etienne could see them through to the last 32 if Qarabag also won against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Dodo's first-half effort for Inter was cancelled out by a goal from Moustapha Bayal Sall as their two teams drew 1-1 while Dnipro won 2-1 against their Azerbaijani opponents to leave all four teams in Group F with a chance of advancing.

It was a good night for English sides Tottenham Hotspur and Everton who moved to the brink of qualification.

Spurs came through a nervy finale to beat Asteras Tripolis 2-1 in Group C thanks to an Andros Townsend penalty and a Harry Kane header.

Everton cruised to a 3-0 home win over Lille in Group H with goals from Leon Osman, Phil Jagielka and Steven Naismith.

FC Zurich triumphed 3-2 in an extraordinary game against Villarreal in Group A where all five goals were scored in a 10-minute spell in the first half.

The 24 winners and runners-up from the group stage are joined in the last 32 by the eight teams who fall into Europe's second-tier competition after finishing third in their Champions League sections.

Everton, Spurs on brink of last 32

Everton, Tottenham and Celtic all moved to the brink of the Europa League last-32 on Thursday while Dinamo Moscow, Legia Warsaw, Salzburg and Fiorentina ensured their passage to the knockout rounds.

Everton eased past Lille 3-0 at Goodison Park to stay top of Group H with eight points after goals from Leon Osman, Phil Jagielka and a thunderous drive from Steven Naismith.

Rivals Wolfsburg also stayed in contention in the pool with a 5-1 thumping of Krasnador with former Arsenal misfit Nicklas Bendtner scoring twice in the last two minutes.

"One of our biggest assets is that everyone works hard for each other and when we lose the ball we work hard to get it get it back," said Everton's Scottish international Naismith.

"That was very evident in the first half and I think that was where we won the game."

After a taxing week for some of their Premier League rivals in the Champions League, Spurs survived a poor second half display to run out 2-1 winners at Greek side Asteras Tripolis.

Andros Townsend's penalty and Harry Kane's quick second goal set the north Londoners up nicely, however Asteras pulled one back via a last minute penalty after Federico Fazio's red card.

There may have been no repeat of Spurs' 5-1 rout in which Kane got a hat-trick and Erik Lamela produced his 'rabona' goal against the Greeks in London last month.

But in the end it was job done to stretch Tottenham's unbeaten run in the competition to four.

Spurs are level with Besiktas on eight points in Group C and on their way to the knockout stages with two games remaining.

"We came to get the three points, the result is good and I am happy," said Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Celtic's Group D 1-1 draw against Astra Giurgui in Romania was played out in thick fog.

The Scottish champions were fired into the lead by Stefan Johansen only for Brazilian substitute William Amorim to level with a brilliant curling shot to beat Celtic keeper Craig Gordon.

While a win would have seen them safely through to the next round, the draw left them second on eight points, two adrift of Salzburg, 5-2 winners at Dinamo Zagreb.

Jonatan Soriano scored a hat-trick for the Austrians who are safely into the knockout stages.

Dinamo Moscow went through from Group E thanks to a 1-0 win at Estoril Praia with Kevin Kuranyi scoring the crucial goal just three minutes after coming off the bench.

Legia Warsaw beat Metalist Kharkiv 2-1 in the Polish capital to also make the last-32 with a fourth win in Group L.

Manuel Pasqual scored two minutes from time as Fiorentina drew 1-1 with PAOK in Florence to secure qualification in Group K.

Fellow Italians Inter Milan were held 1-1 at Saint-Etienne but still lead Group F.

Italy's last Champions League winners in 2010 took the lead through Brazilian Dodo, only for Moustapha Bayal Sall to equalise for the former French greats in the second half.

Napoli are level on points in Group I with Sparta Prague after a 3-0 win over Young Boys with Dutch international Jonathan De Guzman scoring a hat-trick.

Defending champions Sevilla top Group G after a 3-1 home win over Standard Liege.

Costa left out of Spain squad

Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been left out of Vicente del Bosque's Spain squad for this month's matches with Belarus and Germany to help him recover from his recent injuries.

"I have spoken to our doctors and those of Chelsea and I have decided to leave him out due to the situation with his pubis (pelvis)," Del Bosque told a news conference.

"He may be able to play (in) Chelsea's next game against Liverpool (on Saturday) but that doesn't mean he doesn't have some type of injury problem."

Del Bosque has also looked to freshen up the team following their disappointing early exit at this year's Brazil World Cup and continued that trend by calling up Jose Callejon, Alvaro Morata, Nolito and Ignacio Camacho for the first time.

European champions Spain have made a stuttering start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign and are second in Group C with six points from three games behind Slovakia on nine.

They host Belarus in their next qualifier on November 15 before welcoming Germany for a friendly three days later.

Costa was called up for the matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg last month which led to a row with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho who felt the Brazilian-born striker needed rest after suffering groin and hamstring injuries.

Costa missed the following four matches for Chelsea and, while he is now back playing for the Premier League side, Del Bosque has decided to give him a break.

Callejon is top scorer in Serie A with eight goals for Napoli while Morata has taken his limited chances at Juventus well and is pushing for a starting place with Fernando Llorente, another contender for a place in the Spain squad.

Nolito's quality on the ball has helped Celta Vigo make a strong start to the season in La Liga where they stand sixth and Camacho has been impressive in a defensive role for Malaga.

"We need players with ability who can open up the pitch and can score goals. We need to take advantage of the good form that they are in," said Del Bosque.

"Camacho has proved himself at youth level and was champion at U-17 (2007 European Championship) and U-21 (2013 Euros). He is 24 and reflects how well Malaga are playing."

Ramsey must focus on basics - Wenger

Under-fire Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey will return to the top of his game as long as the Welshman "keeps his priorities right", manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday.

The 23-year-old was Arsenal's best midfielder last term, bagging 16 goals in all competitions despite being plagued by niggling injuries, and named the club's player of the season.

But after a string of below-par performances in recent weeks, Wenger was forced to back Ramsey ahead of his side's trip to Swansea City in the Premier League on Sunday.

"A midfielder is a guy who defends well, makes the other players play - focus on that," Wenger told a news conference.

"I think you have to be guided not by what people say, but the way you want to play and the (way the) game should be played.

"When you score a goal but have a disastrous game, people say you have been great.

"As a midfielder you have to keep the priorities right. Defend well, attack well and give good balls to other players. That's basically what the game is about.

"It's not about goalscoring – goalscoring is a consequence of playing well, so focus on playing well."

After throwing away a three-goal lead against Anderlecht in their Champions League group game on Wednesday to draw 3-3, Wenger believes his side learnt a tough lesson and will be better as a result.

A SHOCK

"It was a shock, but overall we know we can score goals and do better defensively," he said. "We can learn a lot from what happened. Subconsciously we thought the game was over and it rarely is.

"We are very positive inside the camp. We are not affected by negativity. We are not happy when we don't win but that's it."

Fourth-placed Arsenal will be without captain Mikel Arteta, who has a hamstring strain, for the trip to Swansea but forward Theo Walcott is fit to start after missing the last 10 months with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

The 25-year-old made his comeback off the bench against Burnley last weekend and has received a surprise call-up by England manager Roy Hodgson for this month's Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Slovenia and the friendly away to Scotland.

"He (Walcott) is available, he has been chosen by England and he needs competition," the Frenchman said. "He has been out for 10 months.

"People think it's like mechanics. They're not machines, they are human beings and to get back into the rhythm of the top, top competition will take time.

"Every time you have a big injury, there is a bigger chance of having another.

"Overall he has been taken care of very well. He is now ready to play again and we have to just leave him in peace and give him the needed time to come back."

Saints' Schneiderlin demands three points

For Premier League momentum, and to keep confidence running sky high on the south coast, Southampton's French international midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is demanding a win over Leicester City so Saints enter the international break in perfect shape.

A loss to Tottenham Hotspur before the last international spell had threatened to dent their confidence, but that has since proven to be their only defeat in their last 12 games.

Southampton sit pretty in second spot in the league, and have no intention of easing off the accelerator.

"We are ready to kick on, we know that after Saturday we are going to have another break, the mood is very good but we know it can change very quickly," Schneiderlin said.

"It is important to us before the international break to have a good result against Leicester so we are able to enjoy our national duties.

"Before whatever break it is important to get a victory, but we want to keep second place and to catch Chelsea.

"For a few games now there is a lot of expectation and we responded well. Leicester are a promoted team and we know how we were when we were promoted, the anger and also pleasure we had each game."

Southampton will be looking to make it five wins out of five in all competitions. Leicester, meanwhile, have not won in five.

Having won the Championship last season to gain promotion to the Premier League, the Foxes have stumbled after a bright start, and sit third from bottom with nine points from their opening 10 matches.

"The players have worked exceptionally hard and there is more to come from us," Leicester manager Nigel Pearson told his club's TV station.

"We're having a bit of a difficult run but that in itself is something we have to adapt to. It was never going to be a very easy transition, I still think we've got more to come."

Saints' Dutch boss Ronald Koeman knows his players cannot afford to give an inch if they are to continue their remarkable progress this season.

"Leicester will... have good organisation on the pitch, to close the line and not leave a lot of space for us to play," Koeman told reporters. "When we have the ball we need good possession and good positions on the pitch to play at a high tempo.

"We know that, and in all the training sessions that is what we are doing. It's all about possession and okay, the physical part is an important part of football, but I believe in the way of playing and that makes the difference between teams."

Everybody at St Mary's knows, too, how important it is to pick up full points against the likes of Leicester, with some mammoth clashes looming.

Between the end of this month and January 10, Southampton will face champions Manchester City, Arsenal twice, Manchester United twice, Chelsea and Everton.

Kompany ruled out of QPR match

Manchester City's woes continued on Friday when captain Vincent Kompany, who has played in every minute of their Premier League campaign, was ruled out of the visit to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday with a calf injury.

The league champions, who have won just once in five matches in all competitions, will also be without David Silva and Aleksandar Kolarov for the match at Loftus Road, but Frank Lampard returns to the squad after recovering from a thigh injury.

Belgium international Kompany injured his calf during City's abysmal performance when they lost 2-1 at home to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Wednesday, and is ruled out even though he stayed on the pitch until the end of the match against the Russians.

Coach Manuel Pellegrini, whose side are third in the Premier League, six points behind leaders Chelsea, told reporters: "He has a calf problem. It is not serious but I don't know if he will be ready for his international squad."

Belgium are playing a friendly against Iceland and a Euro 2016 qualifier against Wales next week.

Pellegrini is now likely to call on Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala to form the central defensive partnership against QPR, who have shown signs of improvement recently despite being only one place off the bottom of the table.

POOR FORM

City's form, however, has nosedived.

After scoring a flattering 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on October 18, they let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 with CSKA in Moscow, then lost 2-1 at West Ham United in the league before crashing to a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle United in the Capital One (League) Cup, which they won last season.

They recovered with a 1-0 derby win over Manchester United on Sunday, before falling back down to earth by losing at home to CSKA, leaving their Champions League survival hopes hanging by a thread.

As a result, British media have begun to speculate that Pellegrini's job is in jeopardy – just five months after winning the Premier League title.

The vultures are also circling over midfielder Yaya Toure, who has not played well recently and was one of two City players sent off against CSKA on Wednesday.

Pellegrini, however, defended the tough Ivorian, saying: "He is just coming back from injury. I hope he will return the same way he was before his injury.

"There are a lot of reports Yaya will be sold. Nowhere in this club are we talking about that. Yaya is very important.

"In my 25 years as a manager, the only pressure I have is managing this team. I never feel external pressure."

Pellegrini dismissed any suggestion that City were out of the Champions League despite only collecting two points from their four matches.

He also put a different spin on his team's Premier League performances.

"We have won four out of our last five in the Premier League," he said, "and it is very important to continue adding points.

"It is difficult to make any conclusion when you still have 28 games more to play, we are just in November.

"In November last season we were in a worse position than we are now. You also cannot speak about the Champions League, you can only make a conclusion afterwards.

"Obviously if we don't qualify it will be a step back but you cannot talk about things when you don't know what will happen yet."

LVG feeling ‘lousy’ after poor start

A dismal start to the season and a seemingly never-ending defensive injury crisis have left Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal feeling "lousy" at Old Trafford.

After losing 1-0 at fierce rivals Manchester City last weekend, United are 10th in the Premier League following their worst start to a campaign since 1986.

Speaking at a news conference on the eve of Saturday's home match with Crystal Palace, Dutchman Van Gaal said he was disappointed with United's lacklustre start.

"I'm feeling lousy for everyone that we have 13 points from 10 games," he said. "I have the experience that people have great belief in what we are doing now, in the way we are playing football.

"But we are in a process. The process shall take more than one year. It shall take three years – I hope – though that is dependent on lots of things.

"I think we will make it happen, that we will win a lot of matches."

Van Gaal's waspish mood was not helped by his lengthy injury list.

INJURY PROBLEMS

Argentine defender Marcos Rojo, who dislocated his shoulder during Sunday's defeat, will be out for six weeks, while fellow defenders Jonny Evans and Phil Jones are still carrying knocks and Chris Smalling is suspended.

Colombia striker Radamel Falcao, who has scored once in five games since joining on loan from AS Monaco, will also miss the Palace game after failing to recover from a calf injury.

"Marcos dislocated his shoulder but did it in a positive way," Van Gaal said.

"We don't need to operate on him, which is a relief, but maybe with this injury it is very difficult (to say) it shall not happen again. Conservatively, it can be less than six weeks."

United have conceded 14 goals in the league this season and, with Van Gaal forced to reshuffle his defensive pack on a regular basis, the former Netherlands coach said the number of injuries had not helped his side's cause.

"I have remodelled the structure of my team," he said. "Now I have to solve the problems of the injuries every week. When I want to select the same line-up, I cannot. It's the same every week.

"You cannot create consistency and that's important in football. But I don't want to complain or cry, because I have great belief in not only the players but the staff and the players and also the supporters who are supporting me."

Enyeama, Musa on Caf award shortlist

Nigeria duo of Vincent Enyeama and Ahmed Musa have been named among 25 players to vie for the 2014 African Footballer of the Year.

Enyeama and Musa have been outstanding for their club and country this year.

Nigeria captain and goalkeeper, Enyeama, has been instrumental in LOSC Lille's performance this year. In the second round of last season in the French Ligue 1, the 32-year-old's seven clean sheets between the stick helped the club finish in third place.

In the colours of the African champions, the former Enyimba goalkeeper was in the centre of the action at the 2014 Fifa World Cup finals in Brazil, where he pulled off 21 saves in four matches including a big save that helped Nigeria defeat Bosnia-Herzegovina and book their passage to the knockout stage.

CSKA Moscow attacking winger, Musa, played a key role in his club's feat of winning the Russian top flight in May this year.

Out of the seven league goals scored by Musa last season, two of them were recorded this year against Anzhi Makhachkala and Ural.

The 22-year-old also scored twice at the World Cup for Nigeria, both goals against Argentina in a group match which the South Americans won 3-2 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

But the Nigerian pair will face tough challenge from an impressive field of shortlist for the award that include current African Footballer of the Year, Yaya Toure of Manchester City and Ivory Coast.

The 25-man shortlist also include Ghana duo of Asamoah Gyan and Kwadwo Asamoah, Emmanuel Adebayor of Togo, Senegalese pair of Sadio Mane and Dame N'doye as well as Cameroon trio, Vincent Aboubakar, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Stephane Mbia.

Apart from Yaya Toure, the Ivory Coast also have Wilfred Bony and Yao Kouassi Gervais also known as Gervinho among the shortlist.

Africa's most impressive team at the World Cup, Algeria have four players in the shortlist. Islam Slimani, Rais M’Bolhi, Sofiane Feghouli and Yacine Brahimi are the four Algerians.

Tunisia have two players named among the 25 nominees. They are Fakhreddine Ben Youssef and Ferdjani Sassi.

Others among the shortlist are Thulani Serero of South Africa, Yannick Bolasie of DR Congo, Seydou Keita of Mali, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and Mohamed El Neny of Egypt.

Nigeria also have a player among the 20 shortlist for the African Footballer of the Year (based in Africa) category.

Former Enugu Rangers winger, Ejike Uzoenyi, who is now in the books of Mamelodi Sundowns, is shortlisted in the 20-man list.

Caf will announce a shortlist of 10 before the end of this year before trimming the nominees to the final three.

Ivory Coast midfielder, Yaya Toure, has been crowned African Footballer of the Year in the last three editions and will be seeking a fourth individual honour when the Glo-Caf Awards takes place in Lagos, Nigeria on January 8, 2015.