Barcelona ready £50m for David Silva

The Catalan giants will go ‘all out’ to lure 28 year old Silva back to La Liga with this source claiming the Etihad Stadium star would be worth £50m on the transfer market.

Silva is into his fourth season at Man City and has been a massive success in the English top tier, racking up 57 assists and 22 goals in 160 appearances for the big spending Premier League side.

A move to Barcelona would perhaps tempt Silva, who may feel that a high profile move to the Catalan side would aid his push for a more prominent role in the Spanish national team set-up.

Messi one goal away from Di Stéfano

The FC Barcelona striker has scored 226 league goals, one less than Alfredo Di Stefano (227) and two less than Raúl González (228) 

On Saturday against Rayo Vallecano (8.00 PM CET), Leo Messi could equal or even beat the legendary Alfredo Di Stéfano’s tally of 227 goals in 329 league matches. The Barça star currently has 226 goals in 262 games, and also has another Real Madrid legend in his sights, Raúl González, who scored 228 but took 550 games to get them. Still aged just 26, the Barça star is breaking records left, right and centre.

Leo Messi’s 226 goals already make him the fifth highest league goalscorer ever. Top of the list is Telmo Zarra, who got 251 goals in 277 games for Athletic Bilbao. Mexican Hugo Sánchez scored 234 goals in 347 games for Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano, while Raúl (228) and Di Stéfano (227) are third and fourth.

Rodgers plays down Liverpool title talk

Brendan Rodgers again ruled Liverpool out of the title race despite a 3-2 win at Fulham leaving the Merseyside club just four points off league leaders Chelsea.

It was a dramatic night at Craven Cottage as the Reds had to rely on skipper Steven Gerrard's injury-time penalty to seal the victory.

The former Swansea had already played down talk of claiming the league prior to the 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal and again reiterated that stance following the victory over Fulham.

"I still maintain that. We're just looking to continue to improve our performance," he said.

"The other teams have to drop points, that's the reality of it. They've got to drop points for us to win it. We're just happy we're growing together as a team, we're improving every day on the training field.

Wenger: Arsenal still strong

Arsene Wenger was pleased with the response of his Arsenal side to the 5-1 trashing at Liverpool and feels the Gunners are still in a strong position in spite of their struggles during the 0-0 draw with Manchester United.

Chances were at a premium between the two sides in a match which failed to live up to its hype. The result leaves Chelsea top of the table by a point.

United could well have left north London with victory but for a brilliant save from Wojciech Szczesny who pushed a header from Robin van Persie onto the crossbar but Wenger was satisfied with a point.

The Arsenal manager said: "It was important not to lose, but it was also important to win. I felt we were nervous.

"Our team was highly focused not to concede, and that maybe restricted our game going forward a little bit because we were certainly hit by the five goals we conceded on Saturday, and you could feel that here."

Carrick: Failing to beat Fulham was 'criminal'

The England international looked to have handed the reigning Premier League champions all three points at Old Trafford with a deflected strike 10 minutes from time, shortly after Robin van Persie had cancelled out Steve Sidwell's first-half opener.

There was to be a dramatic injury-time twist, however, as Darren Bent headed home a 94th-minute leveller for rock-bottom Fulham.

United dominated possession and had 31 shots on goal, leaving Carrick at a loss to explain how David Moyes' men only gained a point.

"It's a tough one to take. It's hard to explain how we've only come away with a point," he told the club's official website. "It was an incredible game, so one-sided.

"We played well for most of the game, we created opportunities but just couldn't score. When we finally got in front, we should have extended the lead with the chances we had, so it's tough to take after being hit like that at the end.

Mata, Rooney & Van Persie will be best front three in England - Moyes

Moyes brought Mata to Old Trafford for a club record £37.1 million in the January transfer window - the biggest single deal of the month anywhere in Europe.
With Van Persie and Rooney returning to the first-team fold following injuries, the Scot is expecting them to soon hit off it.

Asked if they are the best attacking trio in the Premier League, he replied: "I think they will be when we get them ready and totally match fit all of them and gelled together.

"We need to give Juan Mata time to settle in and not get too far ahead of ourselves too quickly.

"The one good thing is that because he has Premier League experience and being in the league and being at a big club, coming here should be a little easier.

Manchester United 2-2 Fulham

Half-time substitute Bent headed in during the fourth minute of added time as United's comeback, led by late goals from Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick, was ultimately denied.

Fulham – who sit bottom of the Premier League table and had lost their last 11 trips to Old Trafford – claimed a shock lead in the 19th minute through Steve Sidwell.
United struggled to break down a resolute Fulham side for long spells, and they were staring down the barrel of a ninth league defeat of the season at one stage as goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg excelled.

But Van Persie then swept in Juan Mata's attempted shot from three yards at the far post in the 78th minute and, less than two minutes later, Carrick's deflected strike from outside the penalty area sailed into the top corner.

That seemed to have swung the game and spared United boss David Moyes' blushes, with the Scott celebrating the second United goal emphatically on the pitch.

Fulham, though, produced a late sucker-punch for under-fire Moyes, as Kieran Richardson's shot – which was parried by David de Gea – was nodded in by Bent.

United are now nine points adrift of the fourth-placed Liverpool, with the result another blow to their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

After announcing he will quit Old Trafford at the end of the season, Nemanja Vidic returned from a three-match suspension to captain the side, while Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen swung the axe with a bold team selection after four consecutive league defeats.