Ji-sung leaves Man United but believes they will thrive in his absence

MANCHESTER: Park Ji-sung has admitted he is frustrated to be leaving Manchester United when they are top of the Premier League but expects them to still be there when he returns from Asia Cup duty with South Korea.

“Playing for the national team is an honour, but I am also very happy to play for United, so missing several games is disappointing,” said in-form midfielder Ji-sung, who has scored six goals this season.

“But United have a big enough squad to be very strong and they will do well without me. I will keep an eye on United’s schedule and results when I am away – I will focus on the team.

“And I totally believe we will still be top when I come back. I have no doubts we will be in the same position as we are at the moment,” he added.

Park, who has had to balance his commitments with European club sides and at international level for eight years, is thinking of retiring from South Korea duty after the Asia Cup in Qatar.

“For now I can’t say anything. Maybe after the Asia Cup I will,” he said.

But first Ji-sung still has club work to perform ahead of United’s match against a Sunderland side who held United to a draw at the Stadium of Light and won away at Premier League champions Chelsea last month in one of the shock results of this season.

“Sunderland have shown what they can do against the big teams,” said Ji-sung.

“Their victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was a great result. They probably think they can do the same at Old Trafford.

“We need to be aware of that and concentrate because this will not be easy.”

Ji-sung said the congested Christmas and New Year period would have a key bearing on the outcome of the title race.

“Previous seasons have suggested this is quite an important period because there are so many matches in such a short space of time,” he said.

“There is a long time to go but four games in nine days is quite a lot. If you are not in form, you can lose a lot of points very quickly.

“In order to win the league, it is very valuable to pick up as many points as possible during this period.”

Man United stay top, City punish Magpies defensive blunders to go second

LONDON: Manchester United remained two points clear at the top of the English Premier League yesterday as Manchester City moved up into second place in the table.

Dimitar Berbatov’s double saw United beat Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford while City, who were third on goal difference at the start of the day, won 3-1 at Newcastle in a match where Carlos Tevez scored twice.

Tottenham Hotspur can stay in touch with the top four if they win away to Aston Villa in the late kick-off.

Arsenal, who started the weekend in second, and fourth-placed champions Chelsea will look to maintain their title challenges when they meet at the Emirates Stadium today.

United were ahead as early as the fifth minute when Ryan Giggs’s run saw him find Wayne Rooney, whose cross was headed in by the unmarked Berbatov at the far post.

United had several chances to double their lead before Bulgaria striker Berbatov made it 2-0 in the 57th minute when his shot delected off Sunderland’s Anton Ferdinand — brother of United’s Rio.

Two defensive blunders saw Manchester City go 2-0 up inside five minutes away to Newcastle thanks to goals from Gareth Barry and Tevez.

Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul’s poor clearance was cut out by Tevez and the striker released Barry who scored from inside the area.

Argentina forward Tevez doubled City’s lead at St James’ Park just three minutes later after Newcastle’s Cheik Tiote gave the ball away.

Tevez pounced and fed James Milner before getting on the end of the midfielder’s return cross and finishing emphatically.

Newcastle got back into the match when striker Andy Carroll headed in a Joey Barton cormer in the 72nd minute.

However, Tevez sealed City’s win nine minutes from time when, after linking with Adam Johnson, his shot deflected off Newcastle’s Fabricio Coloccini.

West Ham moved off the bottom with a 3-1 win at Fulham as Wolves were left propping up the table after a 2-1 loss at home to relegation rivals Wigan.

England striker Carlton Cole scored two goals for West Ham, first cancelling out an opener from Fulham’s Aaron Hughes and concluded the scoring after Frederic Piquionne put the Hammers in front.

West Ham’s first away win in 27 attempts saw some of the pressure on their manager Avram Grant transfered to Fulham boss Mark Hughes.

“It was a good game for us - we came back which was amazing,” Grant said.

“The players are happy with the win and they want to taste it again.”

At Molineux, Wigan went ahead in the ninth minute when Wolves failed to clear a corner and Hugo Rodallega volleyed home.

The Latics then doubled their lead 11 minutes later when Rodallega turned provider to find Tom Cleverley, on loan from Manchester United, who slid in their second goal.

Wolves pulled one back through Steven Fletcher three minutes from time.

Bolton went fifth with a 2-0 victory at home to West Brom.

Matt Taylor started and finished a move with South Korea’s Lee Chung-yong in the 40th minute before Johan Elmander made the game safe in the 86th minute.

Stoke moved up into eighth with a 2-0 away win at Blackburn.

Robert Huth headed in a 51st minute corner before Marc Wilson’s last-minute strike secured all three points.

Blackpool’s match at home to Liverpool was postponed because of a frozen pitch while the clash between Everton and Birmingham also fell victim to the weather.

Wenger wants Arsenal to kill off Chelsea

LONDON: Arsene Wenger wants Arsenal to deliver a hammer blow to Chelsea’s title challenge when the champions visit the Emirates Stadium in a crucial London derby today.

Wenger’s side have endured a miserable run against Chelsea recently, but they have a golden opportunity to end that barren streak of five successive defeats in their final home match of 2010.

While Chelsea have slipped to fourth in the Premier League after failing to win any of their last five matches, the Gunners have moved one point above their rivals into second place thanks to some impressive performances.

Arsenal’s only slip came two weeks ago when they lost to leaders Manchester United, but, despite being widely written off as title contenders in pre-season, they have managed to outshine Carlo Ancelotti’s team over the last two months and Wenger knows they can significantly damage Chelsea’s chances with victory in the first of their Christmas fixtures.

“Of course this is a must-win game,” Wenger said. “We have mixed feelings because we came out of both games against Chelsea and Manchester United this season thinking we could have won and that there wasn’t a difference between the teams.

“We have a good opportunity to show that in the coming months and that our improvement is bigger than any other team because we are a very young side.

“We are confident over taking Chelsea on at home. Chelsea have gone through a period where results are a bit less good but that can happen to anyone in this league.

“They have a little bit less confidence than they had in October but we know that winning will be down to our performance.

“We want to put a top-level performance in at the Emirates and show we are masters at home.”

Wenger hopes the boost of having captain Cesc Fabregas and Dutch forward Robin van Persie starting together for the first time since August will spark his team to a landmark victory.

But Chelsea boss Ancelotti believes the presence of Frank Lampard in the team after his three-month injury absence could prove decisive.

Lampard has been sidelined by hernia surgery and a groin injury and the England midfielder’s eye for goal and energetic displays have been sorely missed during Chelsea’s dismal run.

“It’s very important to have him in our attacking play and when we have the ball. That will increase our possibility to score,” Ancelotti said.

“Having him back will be fantastic news. He will be able to play. He’s fit. He’s excited.

“It’s very difficult to find this kind of player who has the capability of scoring 20 goals. He has character, ability, he always runs and works hard.

“He’s so professional. In the (transfer) market there is no player capable of replacing Lampard.”

After starting the season with a blizzard of goals and dominant displays that had many proclaiming them as certainties to retain the title, Chelsea looked far from invincible as injuries to Lampard, John Terry, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba took their toll.

That quartet are all back now though and Ancelotti will be left with no excuses if Chelsea continue to fall further off the pace.

The Italian’s claims that it is harder to stay at the top than get there are unlikely to cut any ice with notoriously demanding Blues owner Roman Abramovich and his coterie of advisors.

“In football it is difficult to maintain first place. It’s easier to arrive first. It’s very difficult to maintain it,” Ancelotti said.

“It’s harder to stay at the top of the table. Obviously, it’s harder now to win the title and stay at the top level. But that’s a fantastic motivation for us.” 

Spurs manager Redknapp adamant Modric will not be going anywhere

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has said Jonathan Woodgate could go out on loan in a bid to boost the defender’s recovery from a long standing groin injury.

But he was adamant Luka Modric would not be going anywhere despite reports Premier League champions Chelsea were interested in the Croatia playmaker.

Mancini: Time for Balotelli to deliver

MANCHESTER: Roberto Mancini has warned Mario Balotelli that he must do his talking on the pitch after claiming his moody demeanour is doing him more harm than good at Manchester City.

Balotelli, who cost Manchester City £24mil in the summer, has never been far away from courting controversy.

The Italian striker this week dismissed Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere as “Jack who?” in assessing the man who finished runner-up as Europe’s best young player.

That appraisal came within hours of Balotelli even claiming he is about to make as big an impact on the game as Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has achieved.

Now the Manchester City manager has stepped in and told his striker to forget his own hype and concentrate on matters on the pitch.

And Mancini feels Balotelli’s first move should be to adopt a lighter approach by playing with a smile, rather than a scowl, on his face.

“Mario Balotelli has everything you need to be one of the best players in the world.

“But he must improve and he must show it. Only if you play well in every game can you say these things. It depends on him.

“The Premier League is so different from the Italian league. Mario must understand. If he thinks what he says he must show it in every game.”

2 Premier League matches postponed due to weather

LONDON (AP) - The Premier League matches between Blackpool and Liverpool and Everton and Birmingham have been postponed because of the freezing conditions in the north of England.

Blackpool's home match on Sunday at Bloomfield Road was called off due to a frozen pitch. The club said the game has been rescheduled for Jan. 12.

Bloomfield Road is the only pitch in England's top division that doesn't have under-soil heating. Blackpool's past three home matches have been lost to the cold weather that has swept through Britain over the past month.

Everton's home match was postponed because "many" frozen pipes at Goodison Park burst overnight. No new date has been set for the match.

Numerous lower-league matches in England have also been canceled.

Keane looks to leave Spurs to start playing again

LONDON (AP) — Tottenham striker Robbie Keane is searching for a new club in the January transfer window after being squeezed out of the team.

With Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Rafael van der Vaart the preferred forward options, Keane has started only two English Premier League matches this season. His only goal came in a League Cup loss to Arsenal.

Keane joined Spurs in 2002 after stints at Leeds, Inter Milan, Coventry and Wolverhampton. After being lured to Liverpool in the 2008 offseason, Keane was a flop at Anfield and was re-signed by Spurs six months later.

"Robbie would like to move and he wants to play — he is a boy who has played all his career," Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said on Friday. "He is not used to not playing. He is still a top player and would grace most clubs.

"It's just that he has been unfortunate with Rafa coming in and I've been playing one up with him. I have Defoe, Crouch, Pavlyuchenko and Robbie so it's been difficult getting him in the team. I haven't heard anything about any offers for him though."

Birmingham has been touted as a destination for Keane after the central England club prioritized the need to sign an experienced striker in January.

Redknapp also said on Friday that center back Jonathan Woodgate could be sent out on loan to aid his recovery from a long-term groin injury.

The 30-year-old former Real Madrid defender returned to training this week after spending more than a year on the sidelines.

Woodgate's career has been blighted by back and knee injuries and his groin problem restricted him to just three appearances last season.

"I spoke to Jonathan and I said to him that if he comes through the next couple of weeks then it might be a good idea for him to go out on loan to play some matches," Redknapp said. "I think he fancies that. He has been out a long time and he is a fantastic center half.

"Anyone who loans Jonathan Woodgate is getting one of the best center halves in the Premier League and I would be willing to do that just to give him some games."