After 16 years, hip hop star Dr Dre tops UK album chart again |
- After 16 years, hip hop star Dr Dre tops UK album chart again
- Bayern thrash Hamburg 5-0 in Bundesliga season opener
- City attempt to add on to Chelsea woes in Sunday’s clash
- United’s Van Gaal wants more from players despite wins
- Greek PM faces biggest party revolt yet as bailout approved
- Barca will make ‘incredible comeback’ after Bilbao hammering, says Enrique
| After 16 years, hip hop star Dr Dre tops UK album chart again Posted: 14 Aug 2015 05:55 PM PDT
Compton, which the 50 year-old rapper has dedicated to his Californian birthplace of the same name, outperformed its nearest competitors by over 28,000 combined chart sales, the Official Charts Company said. Puth's second British Number 1 finished the week with sales of over 94,000 after entering the tally the week before, and it marked another success for Trainor whose debut single spent four weeks at Number 1 last October. Calvin Harris and Disciples' "How Deep Is Your Love" stayed firm at number two on the singles charts, having been streamed over 2.21 million times in the last seven days, and the Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face" jumped five places to number three. Former chart-toppers Little Mix's "Black Magic" and Lost Frequencies' "Are You With Me" rounded out the top five. Dr Dre's return comes after a successful stretch in the producer's seat during which he fostered hip-hop artists such as Eminem, 50 Cent and Timbaland. He also became a successful entrepreneur and sold his headphone company Beats to Apple for US$3 billion (RM12.24) in 2014. Elsewhere in the album charts, British folk singer Frank Turner's "Positive Songs For Negative People" was at number two and British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran's "x" at number three. — Reuters  |
| Bayern thrash Hamburg 5-0 in Bundesliga season opener Posted: 14 Aug 2015 05:54 PM PDT
German international Thomas Mueller scored twice in four minutes midway through the second half. Mehdi Benatia and Robert Lewandowski netted too while newcomer Douglas Costa, who also set up a goal, grabbed the fifth in the 87th minute. Bayern, odds-on favourites to retain their league crown, were never threatened by the visitors who needed a relegation playoff to stay up last season and started the new campaign with a shock German Cup first-round defeat by fourth tier Carl Zeiss Jena last week. "In the first half we had trouble with Hamburg defending with many players, six at the back, but we attacked much better in the second," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola told reporters. Despite having Mario Goetze on the bench amid widespread media speculation about his future at the club, winger Franck Ribery still injured and Bastian Schweinsteiger having left for Manchester United, the Bavarians turned on the style. Brazilian Costa terrorised the Hamburg defence down the left wing with his speed while Chile international Arturo Vidal, who joined from Juventus in the close season, coolly orchestrated the attacks from midfield. Hamburg, who had conceded a staggering 31 goals in their five previous visits to the Allianz Arena, were forced to defend from the start. Poland striker Lewandowski twice went close before central defender Benatia headed in a Xabi Alonso free kick in the 27th minute. Lewandowski made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute when Matthias Ostrzolek's header rolled into his path and Mueller headed the third goal following a surging Costa run and a superb left-footed cross. Mueller added his second goal of the evening in the 73rd minute, rounding keeper Rene Adler after good work from Lewandowski. Costa then capped a memorable Bundesliga debut with a goal when he drilled the ball in from the edge of the box three minutes from time. "It was a fully deserved Bayern win but we kept space tight at the start," said Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia. "We need to defend much better though. At 2-0 we were too sloppy but it is a learning process even if it hurts." ― Reuters |
| City attempt to add on to Chelsea woes in Sunday’s clash Posted: 14 Aug 2015 05:49 PM PDT
Chelsea's week has been dominated by the fall-out from manager Jose Mourinho's criticism of first-team doctor Eva Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn for running onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard when the team were down to 10 men in last weekend's 2-2 draw with Swansea City. Widely criticised over the incident, Mourinho confirmed yesterday that the pair have been demoted ― temporarily, according to him ― and will not be on the bench at the Etihad Stadium. The Swansea game already represented an underwhelming start to Chelsea's title defence after five games without victory in pre-season, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois's dismissal ruling him out of Sunday's contest. City, in contrast, opened with an impressive 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion that sent Manuel Pellegrini's side to the top of the standings after the first round of fixtures. Raheem Sterling is settling in after his £49 million (RM312 million) switch from Liverpool, Sergio Aguero is nearing full fitness following his post-Copa America break and Yaya Toure suggested he was ready to put last season's troubles behind him with a goal and an assist at The Hawthorns. Sunday's game, meanwhile, will be the first at the Etihad since the opening of a new 6,000-seat tier on the South Stand and the addition of 1,500 extra pitch-side seats, taking the capacity to 55,097 ― another sign of the club's growing ambition. Victory would put City five points above Chelsea and although it is early days, Pellegrini knows that Sunday's encounter represents an opportunity to disrupt the stride of a title rival. "We are not thinking about the title in the second game, but we are thinking about trying to win our points at home, especially as we are playing against the champions and one of the teams that has a lot of chances to win the title," he said. "It is the same as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham ― all the big teams." Aguero in contention Aguero came off the bench against West Brom, but it may be too soon for last season's top scorer to start, which would mean Wilfried Bony continuing to lead the line. For Chelsea, Asmir Begovic will make his competitive full debut, having come on against Swansea following Courtois's second-half dismissal for felling Bafetimbi Gomis. Oscar is a doubt with a knock sustained in training, but Diego Costa is in line to play, having allayed fears about the condition of his hamstrings by completing 90 minutes against Swansea. Even by Mourinho's stormy standards, it has been a challenging week, as medical professionals from within the game have queued up to criticise him over his perplexing treatment of Carneiro and Fearn. He threatened to walk out of a briefing with newspaper journalists on Friday when pressed on the matter, but he has dismissed suggestions the furore will have any effect on the outcome of the showdown with City. "If somebody thinks that a disagreement between two members of the medical staff and the manager can affect the week, it is somebody that doesn't have a clue about what football is and about preparation for matches," Mourinho said. "It is obviously not (a problem). "The season is very, very long. We are speaking about 38 matches ― 38 matches is an eternity, a marathon that started last weekend and ends in around 10 months. "I cannot say it (the match) is crucial, I cannot say it is decisive, I cannot say it is very, very, very important. "But, two title contenders, three points, so if you can get three and your opponent zero, it is important. "I am not going to say the game is not important, but for sure I don't say the game decides anything for the winner or the loser." ― AFP |
| United’s Van Gaal wants more from players despite wins Posted: 14 Aug 2015 05:43 PM PDT
Adnan Januzaj marked his return to the starting XI with a 29th-minute winner yesterday as United moved to the top of the table, but Van Gaal was dismayed by the ease with which his team conceded possession. Having mustered only one shot on target in their 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, United found the target just twice against Villa, but it was wayward passes, rather than shots, that concerned Van Gaal. "When you score more than your opponent, it's enough," he said. "But I think you are right, because we had too many unnecessary ball losses. "That was not only Adnan Januzaj, but also Memphis Depay and Wayne Rooney. So a lot of players. I can say more. We have to improve that. "But in spite of this, we had more chances than the opposition, and bigger chances, and we scored a fantastic goal after a fantastic pass from Juan Mata and a fantastic cut from Adnan." Januzaj's goal saw him race onto a splendid pass from Juan Mata before cutting inside Villa captain Micah Richards and beating Brad Guzan with the help of a deflection off Ciaran Clark. Januzaj was replaced by Ander Herrera on the hour and while Van Gaal said the substitution had been pre-planned, he was critical of the Belgian's use of the ball. "I'm pleased with the goal, because it was a wonderful goal, how Adnan scored, but you have to do more than only scoring a goal," said the Dutchman. "That was less good than the goal." Asked if Januzaj had lost the ball too much for his liking, Van Gaal replied: "Yes." Januzaj has been linked with a loan move to Sunderland, but while he said he intended to stay at Old Trafford and fight for his place ― dismissing the speculation linking him to the Stadium of Light as "just rumours" ― Van Gaal was coy when asked if the winger would be loaned out. "You have to wait and see until we close the transfer period," he said. "That's now my benefit of this transfer period." Sherwood sanguine Van Gaal refused to be drawn on David de Gea's future after the Spanish goalkeeper, strongly linked with Real Madrid, was again left out in favour of Sergio Romero. And while he said United would go into Tuesday's Champions League play-off first leg at home to Club Brugge with confidence, he warned that his side would need a defensive performance of similar fortitude to those produced against Villa and Spurs. "When you win two times then you shall have a lot of confidence, but every match is difficult," he said. "Belgian teams can play very compact and can defend and always a team has a chance. When they score out of that chance, it shall be very difficult." Villa manager Tim Sherwood gave home debuts to six players and with four of them taking their first steps in the Premier League, he conceded that it will take time for his team to find a winning formula. "The players are still acclimatising to England, let alone the football, but it's going to take time," he said. "We expected that. But they give me everything and they try and take instruction on. It's not perfect, but they will improve. "The idea is to get them on the training field and hope they can gel." Villa might have had a penalty shortly before half-time when United right-back Matteo Darmian appeared to grapple with Richards, but Sherwood was sanguine about referee Mike Dean's decision to wave play on. "You can get them. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't," he said. "I won't be sticking pins in the referee. We didn't get it, got a deflection on the goal. Someone wasn't shining on us." ― AFP |
| Greek PM faces biggest party revolt yet as bailout approved Posted: 14 Aug 2015 05:43 PM PDT
After lawmakers bickered for much of the night on procedural matters, Tsipras comfortably won the vote on the country's third financial rescue by foreign creditors in five years thanks to support from pro-euro opposition parties. That cleared the way for euro zone finance ministers to approve the deal totaling €86 billion (RM389 billion) over three years. This they did yesterday evening, albeit with stringent conditions. The vote laid bare the anger within Tsipras's leftist Syriza party at the austerity measures and reforms which he accepted in exchange for the bailout loans. Altogether 43 lawmakers — or nearly a third of Syriza deputies — voted against or abstained. The unexpectedly large contingent of dissenters, including former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, heaped pressure on Tsipras to clear the rebels swiftly from his party and call early elections in the hope of locking in popular support. Tsipras remains hugely popular in Greece for trying to stand up to Germany's insistence on austerity before relenting under the threat of a euro zone exit. He would be expected to win again if snap polls were held now, given an opposition that is in disarray. "I do not regret my decision to compromise," Tsipras said in parliament as he defended the bailout from euro zone and International Monetary Fund creditors. "We undertook the responsibility to stay alive over choosing suicide." But the vote left the government with support from within its own coalition below the threshold of 120 votes in the 300-seat chamber, the minimum needed to command a majority and survive a confidence vote if others abstain. In response, government officials said Tsipras was expected to call a confidence vote in parliament after Greece makes a debt payment to the European Central Bank on Aug 20 — a move that could trigger the government's collapse and snap elections. A senior lawmaker, Makis Voridis, from the opposition New Democracy said his party would vote against Tsipras's coalition, raising the odds it would be toppled. Still, some of those who rebelled on Friday could still opt to support the government in a confidence vote, as could other pro-European parties such as the centrist Potami and the centre-left PASOK, leaving the final outcome unclear. Fight starts Yesterday's vote was only the latest in a series of events highlighting the rift within Syriza, which stormed to power this year on a pledge to end austerity once and for all, before Tsipras accepted the new bailout to avoid a banking collapse. The leader of Syriza's far-left rebel faction, former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, took a step toward breaking away from the party by calling for a new anti-bailout movement. "Syriza accepted a new, third bailout — austerity that goes against its program and pledges," Lafazanis told Efimerida Ton Syntakton newspaper, adding that this "will open the way for a mutation of Syriza with an uncertain ending." Syriza would be weakened by the departure of the faction led by Lafazanis. "While an early election could be helpful in terms of removing hardliners from a Tsipras-led Syriza and, possibly, forcing the party to adopt a more centrist stance, the most likely outcome will be another fragmented parliament in which no party controls an absolute majority," said Wolfgango Piccoli, an analyst at Teneo Intelligence. "This means that the 'new' Syriza — the party likely to win the largest amount of votes and seats — will have to strike another coalition deal to govern." Following the ministers' approval, the deal needs ratification by Greece's euro zone peers, notably by parliament in Germany — the biggest contributor to Greece's bailouts and where public opinion opposes lending any more money to Athens. Once the final hurdles have been overcome, aid can start to flow so that Athens can make the €3.2 billion debt payment to the ECB on Thursday and avoid a default. Other more long-term concerns also remain. The IMF has made clear it would participate in the programme only if Europe agreed to ease Greece's huge debt burden. Berlin opposes writing off any Greek state debt, although it is open to the idea of extending grace periods before Athens has to start paying interest and principal on its bailout loans. Tsipras has long argued Greece cannot repay all its debts and demanded a partial write-off. The creditors have agreed to consider the issue only after a review in October of the government's implementation of its side of the deal. — Reuters |
| Barca will make ‘incredible comeback’ after Bilbao hammering, says Enrique Posted: 14 Aug 2015 05:36 PM PDT
An under-strength Barca side were torn apart by Athletic on Friday as Mikel San Jose's stunning opener and a second-half hat-trick from Aritz Aduriz put them on the verge of a first trophy in 31 years. "If there is anyone who can turn this around it is Barca. We will wait till Monday and will give everything we have," said Enrique. The European champions lifted their fourth trophy of the year earlier in the week, but were equally as shambolic in defence as they threw away a 4-1 lead before overcoming Sevilla 5-4 in extra time. It is the first time in 14 years that Barca have conceded four times in two consecutive games and comes as even more of a shock as it took 13 games for the Catalans to concede eight times last season. "It worries me that we are conceding so many goals," added Enrique. "We will analyse it and try to correct it. Football is a game of errors. Curiously, we have gone from being the team that it is hardest to score against to conceding easily." Having played 120 minutes in the searing heat of the Georgian capital Tblisi on Tuesday, Enrique had opted to rest a number of his star names from the start in Bilbao. Barca also recently completed a gruelling pre-season tour in the United States and have a host of players returning from international duty at the Copa America. However, Enrique refused to blame his side's punishing schedule as an excuse for their lacklustre performance. "We came from competing barely three days ago. I made a lot of changes to the starting 11 and I accept the responsibility as always. "I believe I had to protect the players. This isn't the point of the season to burden some players with 120 minutes. "I don't think it is the moment to look for excuses. It is how it is and I accept that." Dani Alves was one of those most at fault as he was beaten by Sabin Merino to set up Aduriz's first and then pulled down Borja Etxeita for the penalty from which the veteran striker completed his hat-trick. And he too refused to cite fatigue as an excuse for his side's awful defending. "It is not normal to concede eight goals in two games, but that is the level of level we are at. Everything is equal and what you have done in the previous games doesn't matter," said the Brazilian full-back. "We need to be at our best at the Camp Nou and try to come back. We need to compete and be better in defence. "It is not the time to look for excuses like tiredness, the journeys or the pre-season. We have to improve everything." ― AFP |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malay Mail Online | All To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
