Pep Guardiola shipping out Joe Hart baffles ex-Man City boss Mancini

Roberto Mancini expects Joe Hart to improve as a goalkeeper at Torino after joining the Serie A club from Manchester City on transfer deadline day but admits he is puzzled by Pep Guardiola's decision to  offload a player who was No. 1 under the Italian at City.

Hart, 29, completed his loan move to Torino on Wednesday after only playing once under new City boss Guardiola this season -- the 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest in the second leg a Champions League playoff with the Premier League side already 5-0 up in the tie.

"I don't know [why Guardiola demoted him]," Mancini told La Stampa. "But each coach has his own ideas. He will have the chance to redeem himself at Torino.

"In spite of his age, he's going to have the chance to grow further because our coaches here are very good. And then the experience is bound to help him do well."

 

Mancini says he did not play any role in the transfer, although he had heard a rumour before it went through.

"[Torino president Urbano] Cairo has definitely pulled off a great coup anyway," he said. "He's signed himself a reliable goalkeeper."

Mancini added that he fought to keep Hart when the club wanted to sell him, and that move was proved right when he was the club's No. 1 for their title-winning 2011-12 campaign.

"I remember it clearly, it was our first game of the season in 2010 and his first game in the Premier League," Mancini said. "We were playing at Tottenham and it was anything but an exciting game. Joe saved us at least five times. He was still a lad, but I already knew he was going to become great. Thanks to him, that game ended 0-0.

Kedudukan BPL setelah game3

EPL : Watford 1-3 Arsenal

**kemenangan pertama 

Ibrahimovic meledak lagi ! MU 2-0 Southampton

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice on his home debut as Manchester United claimed a comfortable Premier League win over Southampton at Old Trafford.

The Swedish striker headed home Wayne Rooney's cross from the right.

He scored from the penalty spot after Jordy Clasie tripped Luke Shaw, his third goal in two league games since joining on a free transfer this summer.

Paul Pogba, United's £89m world-record signing from Juventus, made an energetic full league debut.

The victory was United's second in succession in the league this season after their opening-day win at Bournemouth.

• Reaction - Mourinho praises "fantastic" Pogba

Ibrahimovic's force of personality could be every bit as much of an asset as his ability to United this season.

The 34-year-old, signed on a free transfer after leaving Paris St-Germain at the end of last season, marked his home debut with a confident display that brought warm appreciation from the home supporters.

Having scored in the Community Shield win over Leicester City and United's Premier League weekend victory at Bournemouth, Ibrahimovic went into the match in fine form.

The Swede's movement was significant in a United attack that looks far livelier than it did under the management of Louis van Gaal last season.

Intriguingly, Ibrahimovic appears to have bumped captain Wayne Rooney from penalty duties. He was quick to take on the responsibility when United were awarded a spot-kick; his finish was his 25th successful conversion from his last 28 attempts.

Man of the match - Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Man Utd)

Leicester Arsenal berkongsi mata. #Tiada gol.

LEICESTER CITY 0-0 ARSENAL

 Leicester's Danny Drinkwater falls under the challenge of Laurent Koscielny (not pictured)

Premier League champions Leicester City and last season's runners-up Arsenal are still waiting for their first win of the new campaign after a goalless stalemate at the King Power Stadium.

Both teams were aiming to bounce back from opening-weekend losses, to Hull City and Liverpool respectively, but could not find a breakthrough in a fiercely-contested game.

Referee Mark Clattenburg was the villain for Leicester fans after denying strong penalty claims in each half, first when Laurent Koscielny tangled with Danny Drinkwater then late on when Hector Bellerin appeared to upend Ahmed Musa.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy failed to punish the club he turned down this summer when he shot wide from close range as Claudio Ranieri's side started to exert a measure of control after the break.

Arsenal keeper Petr Cech saved crucially from Riyad Mahrez in the dying seconds while Arsenal had opportunities of their own as they enjoyed the better of the first half, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shooting narrowly wide.

Arsenal fans were not celebrating a hard-earned point at the final whistle - they were busy venting their fury at manager Arsenal Wenger's lack of activity in the transfer market.

Wenger was urged, loudly and in very industrial terms, to start spending some money as Arsenal fought through a spell of late Leicester pressure.

It left Arsenal without a win from their first two games and means they are already five points behind Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea - and indeed Hull City.

And there can be no doubt Arsenal's fans have a valid point when they question why Wenger has not beefed up his squad more, certainly with more than the £35m acquisition of midfielder Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach.

Wenger is hoping to complete a £25m deal for Valencia's German central defender Shkodran Mustafi but there is also a need for further class in attack to augment, and perhaps replace, Olivier Giroud.

This is a defining season for Wenger so it could be said he faces a defining few days in the transfer market.

Arsenal's fans certainly know it. Wenger must surely know it too as he listened to those angry voices in the travelling support tucked away in a corner of the King Power Stadium

Man of the match - Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal)

Laurent Koscielny's return to the Arsenal side helped strengthen a backline that conceded four goals at home last week

Manager reaction

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri: "I am very happy. We didn't concede. We closed very well all the space and created clear chances to score. It was a draw but I think our fans enjoyed the match. Vardy scored against Manchester United, and he works so hard. I am happy with him."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: "I think overall it was a good performance, a good match between two good teams. It was a game of top level intensity and I believe we responded well to last week's disappointment.

BPL : Arsenal lewat ambil peluang | Man City untung penalti (GW1)

Penyokong Perak, JDT bergaduh [kosmo]

Oleh SAHLIZAH MOHAMED dan MUHAMMAD AYMAN GHAFFA

RAKAMAN keratan video menunjukkan Supian diserang oleh dua penyokong Johor DT di Stadium Perak, Ipoh.

IPOH – Sekurang-kurangnya lima orang cedera termasuk dua anggota polis dan seorang petugas media akibat pergaduhan antara penyokong pasukan Perak dan Johor Darul Takzim (Johor DT) di Stadium Perak, malam kelmarin.

Kekecohan dipercayai berpunca akibat provokasi antara penyokong kedua-dua pasukan selepas Johor DT berjaya membenam Perak 1-0 dalam perlawanan Liga Super.

Wartawan Kosmo! yang turut berada di stadium mendapati penyokong kedua-dua pasukan pada awalnya berbalas jeritan dengan mengeluarkan kata-kata kesat sebelum keadaan bertambah tegang apabila ada antara mereka yang saling membaling objek seperti botol air, batu serta kerusi plastik stadium.

Ketegangan di bangku penonton menyebabkan anggota Unit Simpanan Persekutuan (FRU) dan polis mengarahkan hampir 1,000 penyokong pasukan Johor DT masuk ke tengah padang.

Bagaimanapun, provokasi dan perbuatan membaling objek masih berlaku apabila penyokong kedua-dua pasukan sama-sama mendekati pagar di kawasan penonton.

Dalam pada itu, nasib malang menimpa seorang jurukamera The New Straits Times Press (NSTP), Supian Ahmad, 37, yang mengalami kecederaan akibat dipukul penyokong Johor DT kerana berang gelagat mereka dirakamkan semasa berada di atas padang.

Selain mengalami kecederaan pada muka dan badan, kamera jenis Canon 1DX yang bernilai hampir RM30,000 yang digunakannya turut dirampas penyokong manakala sebuah laptop miliknya turut rosak.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic spearheads Man United's victory over Leicester City in the Community Shield

Manchester 2 Leicester City 1

Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed home a late debut goal to secure a 2-1 victory for Jose Mourinho's Manchester United against Premier League champions Leicester in the Community Shield.

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Jesse Lingard followed up his memorable FA Cup final winner with a tremendous solo effort to put United ahead, only for a defensive error from Marouane Fellaini to allow Jamie Vardy to equalise.

The winner arrived seven minutes from full-time as Ibrahimovic, kept quiet for much of the afternoon, rose to nod in and open his United account, although there were questions as to whether he was offside.

News emerged before kick-off at Wembley that Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba is set for a medical in Manchester ahead of a reported world-record transfer, before another of United's new signings had taken centre-stage by the final whistle - and there was little surprise that it was their new number nine.

Fellow debutant Eric Bailly impressed but was tested inside five minutes as Vardy skipped past him before Daley Blind's challenge put the ball behind for a corner.

Leicester, with Claudio Ranieiri keeping faith in the side which delivered the title, came close on the 20-minute mark as Vardy again got the better of Bailly to find strike partner Shinji Okazaki, whose curling effort was deflected behind for a corner.

The Japan striker then rose ahead of Ibrahimovic and Michael Carrick to head the resulting corner onto David De Gea's crossbar. The game appeared to be entering a lull before the ball broke to Wayne Rooney and he picked out Lingard just inside the Leicester half.

The 23-year-old then set off a run which saw him bundle his way over four questionable Leicester challenges, with Foxes skipper Wes Morgan beaten after diving in, before he showed the composure required to steer the ball home to open the scoring.

Ranieri made two changes at the interval as club-record signing Ahmed Musa was introduced, and it was not long until the new boy was involved.

He streaked away down the left and, although his ball inside was poor, Fellaini's attempted back-pass was weak and Vardy nipped in ahead of De Gea and levelled the scores in front of watching England manager Sam Allardyce.

Lingard limped out of action just after the hour to be replaced by fellow FA Cup final goalscorer Juan Mata, but it was the Foxes who had their tails up.

United slowly came back into the game and Ibrahimovic, quiet on his competitive United bow, saw a tame effort towards goal cleared off the line by Danny Drinkwater.

With 10 minutes remaining, Musa just failed to make meaningful contact when through on goal as Robert Huth's flick-on from Luis Hernandez's long throw-in almost found the Nigeria international.

A penalty shoot-out seemed to be looming only for Ibrahimovic to put his usual stamp on proceedings as he rose to head Antonio Valencia's centre back across Kasper Schmeichel's goal and in off his left post.

Mata was then taken off in the closing moments and appeared to have a heated debate with Mourinho, having been withdrawn less than half an hour after his introduction.

But it was United and Mourinho who came out on top, 12 months after he lost the same event to Arsenal while manager of Chelsea, and he toasted each and every one of his players on the pitch.