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Brazil coach Mano Menezes said his side were ‘too obvious’ going forward after their 0-0 draw against Venezuela in the Copa America.In their opening game of the tournament in Argentina, the defending champions were unable to find a way through a determined Venezuelan defence, and at times looked out of ideas.

They came close when Milan striker Alexandre Pato hit the crossbar, but Menezes conceded his side could have played better in a heated encounter.

“The result was bad, because we played better than Venezuela,” Menezes said.

“We had the control and the initiative of the match, but we lacked clarity in some choices, mainly to find players in the finishing moments.”

“We were too obvious. The ball got to the players who were wide, but they were too far away from Pato and the play could not flow. That is something we have to work on during the week.”

“It looks to me that the pitch hindered faster plays and plays of more quality. However, that is not our problem. We have to look over our performance and correct our problems.”

Lucas Leiva admits Brazil need to improve if they are to become South American champions for the ninth time.

The Liverpool midfielder thinks he and his team-mates controlled the match but knows they must step up when they resume their campaign against Paraguay on Saturday.

“We had control of the match for the most part, we did not let them create a lot of chances,” the 24-year-old said.

“We had the ball that the defender cleared off the line and Pato’s shot against the post. In the second half, we committed more mistakes.

“Now, we have to keep on working in the next matches to play with ball possession and create more chances.”

Venezuela were also fortunate not to concede a penalty in the first half, but coach Cesar Farias was pleased to see his side improve after the interval.

“The result is not just luck. Luck always helps but we have put in a lot of hours in training,” Farias said.

“Venezuela is drawing on many thousand hours for what it takes to be successful in football.”

There were no goals at all in Group B on Sunday, after Ecuador and Paraguay drew 0-0 in the other match.

Tottenham secured an historic passage into the Champions League knock-out stages last night by easing past Werder Bremen by three goals to nil. The whole night went to plan (well, almost) and the goals were all scored at perfect times to confirm Tottenham’s dominance. After two dream results in the space of five days, what did we learn from Spurs after last nights showing?1. Keeping a clean sheet is easier when the opposition isn’t trying very hardIt’s been the main concern for Spurs fans for quite a while now, but finally we’ve stopped a team scoring a goal. Quite what kind of an achievement this is is debatable, Bremen managed only a single shot on target, but to keep a clean sheet of any kind will do confidence a power of good. William Gallas and Younes Kaboul’s partnership was good yet again and importantly they kept switched on for the entire 90 minutes, but in truth it’s hard to analyze the back-four too deeply when they were barely tested. Still, let’s dwell on this for a few days and hope and hope the feat can be repeated on Sunday.2. The Aaron Lennon and Alan Hutton debate continues

I’d like to start by saying that Aaron Lennon was fantastic. After a few weeks of taking flak that he’s lost his touch and that he disappears in games he looked back to his best, setting up two goals and generally making an nuisance of himself. But I felt that last night raised the question once more as to whether Lennon and Hutton should be on the same team. On too many occasions they seemed to be trying to occupy the same space and make similar runs, both are good attacking options but they don’t appear to compliment each other. Potentially they could make a good partnership, but some hard work needs to go on on the training ground for it to work properly.

3. Gareth Bale can miss a penalty and still come off to a standing ovation

We all know how good Mr Bale is  – but last night he showed that he is at least human. His penalty last night was pretty tame, but that fact that his performance over 80 minutes meant that nobody cared about his miss, or even seemed to remember it showed just how well he played. He hit the crossbar twice and gave his full-back a good work out before being replaced by Niko Kranjcar with minutes to go. Job done.

4. Luka Modric’s game has come on leaps and bounds

Much like the Inter game, Luka Modric quietly went about his role as Tottenham’s midfield engine. We all know about his strengths as a good passer in the final third, but last night Luka was all over the pitch making tackles and winning the ball. Back in his first season we were told that he was too light weight to play in the Premier League, and in truth it looked like he was. But this season he has truly become the workhorse of the Tottenham team and his goal was a classy end to a good move.

5. Peter Crouch’s Champions League form is pretty handy

Say what you like about the failings of the man, but the stats show us that Peter Crouch has scored six goals in six Champions League games this season including a hat-trick against Young boys, arguably Spurs’ most important game of recent memory. It’s interesting to see that Crouch’s England and Champions League records are fantastic but his league form is pretty dire, does he have problems motivating himself for lesser games? That’s a question for another day, but in the meantime it seems as though Peter Crouch is becoming vital in Tottenham’s Champions League adventure.

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The Silkmen are still searching for an end to the winless run that has now spanned twenty games, but their point from the Cheshire derby keeps hopes of league survival alive.

The game was actually fairly entertaining and under different circumstances could have been described as enjoyable.

Crewe looked a very talented side and carved openings behind the Macclesfield defence time and time again – the returning Veiga had to produce a man-of-the-match performance to deny the Railwaymen the full three points. But there was a general positive feeling. We had perhaps had some luck (a very welcome sight), yet we also showed a bit more fight – the frustration is that if we had played like this against most previous visitors to the Moss we could have been safe already.

As it is the gap to safety remains at three points – combined with a superior goal difference and a stuttering Barnet side, our survival hopes remain alive. But while the gap does not widen, it is also not being closed. One more bad weekend will likely be enough to sink us. In fact with our trip to Bradford (now safe) and Barnet travelling to Southend (still with faint hopes of a top three finish), it seems this weekend could be a case of now or never.

The situation at the bottom has just become even more intriguing as Barnet have made a sudden managerial change, replacing Lawrie Sanchez with Martin Allen. With just three games to go it does seem like a rather panicked decision and certainly Sanchez has a right to be more than a little aggrieved that his club have lost faith in him at this stage.

Barnet will of course be hoping they get that new manager boost – a boost that has not really materialised for the Silkmen. Certainly Brian Horton’s arrival has not seen an upturn in results although he has brought his own approach. Having not led the squad through the turmoil of past seasons he was never going to be as close to the players as Simmo. This has perhaps manifested in a slightly more ruthless style – Colin Daniel was dropped to the bench having been put at fault for Vale’s winner on Monday, while Zac Aley has vanished from the squad having played the Shrewsbury frontline onside for their killer third on Good Friday.

However he does still have to contend with the casualty list, with Matt Smith and George Donnelly both injured the frontline options have been heavily depleted. Fortunately the return of Draper, even half fit, and an improved performance from Ben Mills’ reduced the impact, but the extensive collection of injuries continues to plague us.

With the same resources at his disposal Horton has yet to improve on results and the win column remains untroubled in 2012. Obviously arriving with the team on such a bad run, it was always going to difficult to halt the slide and we will never know if Gary Simpson would have garnered more points if he had been kept on. Not everyone was convinced by the appointment of Horton, but with safety still a possibility he still has time to prove he was the right choice.

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You can follow me on Twitter for even more Macclesfield discussion @AP_Macc

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Brazilian legend Ronaldo is to play one final match for his country before hanging up his boots.The 34-year-old will line up for the five-time World Cup winners in a friendly against Romania on Tuesday.

Ronaldo officially retired in February after a glittering 18-year career, but the Brazilian Football Confederation have decided to honour the striker by giving him the chance to appear in a farewell game.

Ronaldo’s team-mates were clearly delighted to have him back in the fold, and while they are planning to give him a good send-off, the players are equally determined to win the game.

“As I said, this game is a celebration but we obviously want to win,” AC Milan striker Robinho said.

“We know this will be a celebration for Ronaldo, who deserves all this, but for this celebration to be even better we need to score goals and win.”

Brazil’s head coach Mano Menezes has had mixed results since taking over from Dunga last year.

The match gives him a chance to prepare for the Copa America, a trophy which Brazil won in 2007 and will defend in Argentina next month.

And although the hosts are being tipped as Brazil’s main rivals, Menezes is taking the tournament one step at a time.

“Brazil cannot worry first about Argentina . We have to think first about Venezuela , Ecuador , Paraguay , which are the teams we will face in the qualifiers,” Menezes said.

“If we move ahead, and that is our objective and I think we have great chances of doing so, then we will worry about our rivals in the quarter-finals, then in the semi-finals and so on.”

“There is no point in worrying about the something that we still have not achieved – that is, thinking too much about Argentina and forgetting the others.”

Newcastle United midfielder Kevin Nolan has leapt to the defence of under-pressure manager Chris Hughton.

Speculation surrounding his future has been rife in recent days and, following the midweek 4-0 Carling Cup loss to Arsenal at St James' Park, the voices grew stronger ahead of Sunday's massive Tyne-Wear derby clash with Sunderland.

Despite the ongoing murmurs, Nolan wants Hughton to remain at the helm regardless of the weekend result.

"No matter what happens on Sunday we are going to still be 110 per cent behind Chris Hughton," Nolan told Sky Sports News.

"For the statements, for anything else we don't care what anyone else says outside. As a group of players, as a squad, as a staff and I believe as fans too we believe we are going in the right direction and the main focal point and the main leader in that is Chris Hughton.

"I think the talk is absolutely ridiculous on him having to win a game to stay in his job, it is absolutely ridiculous.

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"No matter what we want to see Chris Hughton in charge of us and we believe we are going in the right way with him in charge of us."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher has admitted that he is frustrated at no longer being an automatic selection for the club, but will remain professional in his bid to return to the first team.

Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger have been given the nod by Kenny Dalglish more often than not this season, but with the Dane recovering from a cracked rib, Carragher will be given the opportunity to play over the next coming weeks.

Despite this, the veteran defender wants to play every week and is not accustomed to starting games from the bench.

“I can’t lie, it has been difficult at times,” Carragher told the club’s official magazine.

“But I’ve said it loads of times in interviews: you have to be respectful to the manager and the other players.

“Privately at times I’m frustrated but that’s because I’m a footballer, I want to play and I’m passionate – I wouldn’t be here in the first place otherwise.

“But I realise this happens to everyone at a certain age. It also reminds me what I’ve done.

“I’ve played for Liverpool’s first-team pretty much every week for 16 years.

“When you do it every week, it slips your mind a little but when you play the odd game against Oldham or Brighton at Anfield in the cups and you leave the pitch knowing you’ve won well and done all right yourself, it’s a great feeling.

“So it sinks in more when you’re not playing,” he stated.

Carragher is also eyeing more success before he quits the game, and is looking forward to playing in Europe again next season.

“I want to win more before the end of my career. That’s why I’m desperate for the FA Cup and to play in Europe again.

“At the moment we’re definitely in the Europa League and I know people knock it but I’d love to reach the final of that competition.

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“I’ve been to three in Europe so far. To have four in your career would be a fantastic achievement.

“At the end of a career you’re desperate more than ever for medals, grabbing as much as you can as you go,” he confessed.

By Gareth McKnight

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Manchester United winger Nani admits Barcelona’s passing game could cause his team trouble in the UEFA Champions League final.United will be looking to add to their English Premier League title when they take on Pep Guardiola’s team in the European decider at Wembley on May 28.

Nani said on Wednesday it was important for United to apply pressure and not allow Barcelona to settle into their possession game.

“It is a big problem because no-one likes to run behind the ball and try to get the ball all the time,” the Portuguese star said.

“It is very difficult when that happens but we must try to get the ball off them as quickly as possible because if we have the ball they cannot do the possession and we can get a goal if we have the ball.”

Sir Alex Ferguson’s team will need to stop the star-studded Barcelona team and Nani acknowledged the problems Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta would pose.

“I think Barcelona is a very talented team. They are special because of the way they play,” Nani said.

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“We don’t have a lot of teams that can play the same style. Of course, they have very good players, individual players.”

Both United and Barcelona will be looking to win their fourth European crowns.

Arsene Wenger believes captain Cesc Fabregas will remain with Arsenal for "many, many years" despite his summer flirtation with Barcelona.

The Spain midfielder was persuaded to stay at the Emirates Stadium by Wenger despite a series of bids from his former club.

Fabregas joined the Gunners from the Catalan club's youth system in 2003 and he has gone on to make almost 300 first-team appearances.

He remains under contract until summer 2014 and Wenger expects the north London club to receive many more years of service from the 23-year-old midfielder.

Speaking at the club's AGM, he said:"He is from Barcelona and has an attraction to where he grew up.

"At the end of the day, I believe he wants to win with this club. For how long I don't know but hopefully for many, many years.

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"I'm not pessimistic. I'm confident we will keep him for a few more years.

"He deeply loves this club, believe me. If he did not love the club, he would have gone."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega has admitted that he wants to leave the club this summer, and is already in discussions with other clubs.

The Colombia international’s contract at the DW Stadium will run out at the end of the season, and despite attempts from The Latics to extend his stay, the South American is determined to leave the relegation-threatened outfit.

“It’s sure that I won’t play anymore for them after this season,” Rodallega told The People.

“This will be my last three months with Wigan.

“I’m already talking with other teams, but I won’t name them. I must respect Wigan. Wigan have received many offers for me, but they always said no.

“I want to leave Wigan with the team having avoided relegation.

“I would love that Wigan fans recognise my effort when I leave the club in May,” he concluded.

Tottenham were believed to be interested in signing Rodallega in the January transfer window but instead acquired Louis Saha, as the Colombian looks towards the next step in his career.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Beijing Guoan went third on the Chinese Super League table with a 3-0 win at Nanchang Hengyuan on Saturday, while Shaanxi were held.Beijing, who finished an agonising two points shy of the AFC Champions League places last season, maintained their strong start by routing Nanchang in a bright second half.

Portuguese import Roberto scored his first goal in a Beijing shirt on 33 minutes, a prelude for what was to come after the break.

Honduras international Walter Martinez picked up his second goal in as many games in the 70th minute, before midfielder Wang Changqing added the finishing touches with a 90th-minute sealer.

Beijing move to third place, one point behind Guangzhou and two points off leaders Hangzhou Lucheng after five games.

Elsewhere, Shaanxi Chanba faltered at home to Changchun Yatai, settling for a 1-1 draw after both clubs made early inroads.

Changchun striker Zhang Wenzhao opened the visitors’ account with a goal in the 12th minute, one that was matched by former Zilina attacker Tomas Oravec 10 minutes later.

In other results, Qingdao Jonoon bounced back from consecutive defeats to edge Dalian Shide 2-1 in a thriller at Qingdao Tiantai Stadium.

Qingdao, who escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth last season, rocketed to a two-goal lead by the 55th minute thanks to a brace by Brazilian attacker Eber.

Bulgarian striker Martin Kamburov kept it interesting by pegging one back for Dalian in the 70th minute.

Finally, Jiangsu Sainty and Henan Construction fought out a 1-1 draw at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center.

China international Zhao Peng put Henan ahead in the 11th minute, a lead that would last only seven minutes before on-loan Adelaide United striker Bruce Djite found the net.