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Rediff.com  » Sports » Football Roundup: Man Utd, Liverpool fans called him 'black monkey'

Football Roundup: Man Utd, Liverpool fans called him 'black monkey'

Last updated on: July 23, 2017 12:12 IST
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Zaha says Man Utd, Liverpool fans call him 'black monkey'

Wilfried Zaha

IMAGE: Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace in action. Photograph: Christopher Lee/Getty Images. 

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has accused Manchester United and Liverpool fans of calling him a "black monkey" on social media.

"If Man United and Liverpool fans feel better by calling me a black monkey in my messages .. feel free to carry on if it makes your day better," the former Manchester United player posted on Instagram after his team's 2-0 win over West Brom in the Premier League Asia Trophy in Hong Kong on Saturday.

Palace manager Frank de Boer had earlier said the 24-year-old Ivory Coast international needed greater protection from referees after he received rough treatment during Saturday's match.

Neymar double gives Barcelona 2-1 win over Juventus

Neymar

IMAGE: Neymar celebrates. Photograph: Barcelona FC/Twitter.

Two sublime goals from Neymar gave Barcelona a 2-1 win over Juventus in front of an 82,000 crowd at MetLife Stadium in the International Champions Cup on Saturday.

Neymar, who is rumoured to be a transfer target of Paris Saint-Germain, put on a master class alongside Lionel Messi as Barcelona turned the tables on the Italian side who knocked them out of last season's Champions League quarter-finals.

Neymar opened the scoring in the 15th minute, the Brazilian playing a smart one-two with Paco Alcacer before curling high past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon into the top right corner.

The Brazilian then doubled Barca's lead 11 minutes later with a world-class goal. Taking a pass from Messi on the left, Neymar slithered past three lunging Juventus defenders as he weaved his way across the box before wrong-footing Buffon and slamming a right-footed shot into the net.

Neymar and Messi gave way at half-time, while Juventus also made several changes in the second half.

The Serie A champions posed more of an attacking threat after the break and pulled a goal back in the 61st minute when Paulo Dybala's corner was headed home by Giorgio Chiellini.

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri was impressed by Neymar.

"He played a fabulous game," Allegri told reporters. "Along with Messi, they are tremendous talents and you could see that on the pitch."

As well as reiterating his desire to see Neymar remain at Barca, Ernesto Valverde said the match was a good indicator of his side's pre-season progress.

"There were a lot of good things in this game. Intention to dominate through the whole match, even though we had a tough opponent in front of us," he added. "These type of things are really useful to us."

Barcelona next play Manchester United on Wednesday in Landover, Maryland, the same day Juventus takes on PSG in Miami.

Aleksandar Kolarov leaves Man City to join Roma

Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov signed a three-year deal with Serie A club Roma, the Premier League side said on Saturday.

British media reported a transfer fee of 4.5 million pounds ($5.85 million).

The 31-year-old won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups in seven years with City.

"When I came in 2010, honestly, I didn't expect to play so long," the Serbia fullback, who joined City from Roma's rivals Lazio in 2010, told City's website.

"Today is the day I have to say goodbye. For me, it's a very sad day. I am proud that I was part of making City the club that it is."

On joining Roma, he added: "I am extremely happy to be here," he said. "I will give 100 percent and more for Roma. My objective is always the same -- to win."

West Ham sign Arnautovic for club record fee

West Ham have broken the club transfer record to sign Austria striker Marko Arnautovic from Premier League rivals Stoke City, the club said on Saturday.

The 28-year-old, who has signed a five-year deal with the London club, joins goalkeeper Joe Hart and defender Pablo Zabaleta as part of manager Slaven Bilic's summer revolution.

"Everyone knows that West Ham is a big club, with big history, and I'm happy to be a part of it now," Arnautovic told the club website after leaving Stoke, where he played for four seasons, scoring 22 Premier League goals.

"The club is still growing, getting better and better, and that's why I'm here," he added.

The fee, which West Ham confirmed was a club record, was reported by British media to be up to 25 million pounds ($32.48 million), exceeding the 20.5 million pounds the club paid Swansea for Andre Ayew in 2016.

The London club, who sold goalkeeper Darren Rudolph to Middlesbrough earlier on Saturday, have now made three big signings during the summer as they bid to improve on last season's 11th-place finish.

Joint-chairman David Sullivan told the club website: "Alongside Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart, we have brought in three players with vast Premier League experience this summer, and that was one of our key targets."

Arnautovic, who previously played for FC Twente and Werder Bremen, has played 62 times for his country, scoring 15 goals.

De Gea staying put at Man United, says Mourinho

Manchester United goalkeepr David De Gea will stay put at the Premier League club this season, manager Jose Mourinho said, amid media reports of continued interest in the 26-year-old by teams including Spanish champions Real Madrid.

In six years at United, De Gea has played 269 matches and won seven titles with his eye-catching displays gaining interest from clubs across Europe.

Mourinho said United were open to a move for the keeper but clubs had withdrew their interest.

"I can guarantee that he is not going this season," Mourinho told reporters in San Jose ahead of Sunday's pre-season International Champions Cup match against Real Madrid.

"My feeling is it will very difficult for him to go. He is a very honest, straight boy. He was contacted for a long time, the club was closed and then we opened. I always have this feeling when a player has a desire to go, then I don't like to stop players...

"So we opened it and then they decided to close it. I see him really happy, focused, working better than ever and 100 per cent he stays with us."

United playmaker Ander Herrera stressed the importance of his Spanish team mate, whose deadline-day deal with Real Madrid collapsed in the 2015 summer window.

"If you lose the top three in any position, like David is... it is a great loss," Herrera told British media.

"We don't want to lose them... For me, he's the best in the world, so I want to keep him here at United.

"He is a goalkeeper who can give you points. That is very important. I want to keep him here, to play with him, because he's a fantastic keeper and also my friend, and I think you can see he's very focused on Manchester United."

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