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‘Gareth is a Real Madrid player and for now he’s staying as a Real Madrid player,’ said Barnett. |
‘If something comes along that suits us, then things could change and he could be gone in a day or a week. Or he could still be a Real player in three years when his contract ends.’ |
Following a public fallout with Zinedine Zidane the Real Madrid boss appeared to confirm Bale’s imminent exit at the weekend, saying that talks were progressing with other clubs. |
Bale was excluded from the pre-season defeat by Bayern Munich on Saturday, though Zidane claims he will play a part against Arsenal on Tuesday night. |
The Trump Cabinet: Strangest Show On Earth |
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES - 2017/01/19: Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, President-elect Donald Trump's choice as Secret |
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES - 2017/01/19: Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, President-elect Donald Trump's choice as Secretary of Energy, is sworn in at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Capitol Hill January 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. Perry is expected to face qu... |
As we start the Trump presidency, events just keep getting more bizarre. At his first and last press conference as president-elect, Donald Trump boasted about his divestment plan in which he was "sort of, kind of," turning over the management of his business enterprises to his two adult sons. He displayed a table full ... |
Furthermore, in spite of claiming that he was stepping away from his business enterprises, Trump was still boasting about being offered a $2 billion deal from a Dubai business man. While Trump assured us that he turned the deal down, the obvious question is why he was discussing it in the first place. |
Insofar as Trump is actually stepping away from his business, this is very far from the sort of blind trust arrangements made by presidents of both parties for the last half century. The public can never be sure that his actions as president are not motivated by a desire to fatten the profits of Trump enterprises. Nor ... |
The ethical lapses from the top carry through to his cabinet appointments, which seem destined to replace Ringling Brothers Circus as the strangest show on earth. Andy Puzder, Trump's pick for Secretary of Labor, runs two chains of fast food restaurants that have repeatedly violated wage and hour laws and has been lega... |
Also, it appears that the Senate Health, Education, and Labor Committee may legitimately have to ask Mr. Puzder when he stopped beating his wife. His first wife accused Mr. Puzder of repeatedly assaulting her in divorce filings, although she has recently issued a statement claiming that her earlier accusations were not... |
Betty DeVos, the Amway heiress who Trump designated to be his Secretary of Education, will be forever remembered as the person who suggested that we need guns in schools to defend children against grizzly bears. She also would not commit herself to saying that the schools have an obligation to educate children with dis... |
Representative Tom Price, the pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, appears to have bought stock in a medical device company the day before he introduced legislation that would improve its regulatory status. His lawyers are now threatening CNN with legal action for reporting this fact. |
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry has been designated for Secretary of Energy, a department that he previously advocated eliminating, although he famously could not remember its name in a Republican primary debate. Apparently both Trump and Perry misunderstood the department's duties at the time of his selection, failin... |
Treasury Secretary designate Steve Mnuchin made much of his fortune running OneWest bank, which was known for rushing foreclosures and evictions following the collapse of the housing bubble. The California Attorney General's staff recommended legal action against OneWest for questionable practices, including backdating... |
Representative Rick Mulvaney, Trump's pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, neglected to pay over $15,000 in taxes for a household worker. This is the same offense that wiped out several high level nominees in Democratic administrations. James Mattis, Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense and perhaps the mo... |
In addition, we have a designee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, whose entire foreign policy experience has been doing deals for Exxon-Mobil for forty years. And then there is the billionaire investor Carl Ichan, who has apparently offered to serve as an unpaid economic advisor to Trump, while he remains free to ... |
Mr. Trump certainly has assembled a formidable crew for his cabinet and top advisory posts that seem well-suited to follow through on the ethical standards to which he himself adheres. There is an old saying that a fish rots from the head. Trump seems intent on proving this true, even if he gets nothing else done in hi... |
Manchester City 3-1 Watford: Raheem Sterling steals the show as he grabs a hat-trick against the Hornets to help Pep Guardiola's side pull four points clear in the title race and pile the pressure on Liverpool |
• It was a highly controversial start to the second half as Raheem Sterling's goal wa ruled out then allowed |
• The Man City forward had been in an offside position but ball was cleared into his knee and spun into the net |
• Sterling's second was a lovely move inside the box which ended in Riyad Mahrez squaring the ball to him |
• The England international took a David Silva pass inside the box, before clipping the ball home for his hat-trick |
• Substitute Gerard Deulofeu gave the Hornets some hope with just over 25 minutes left to go of the match |
• However City held on comfortably and now lead Liverpool by four points in the Premier League title race |
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They won comfortably enough in the end. And beautifully enough, too. Manchester City almost always win beautifully. Raheem Sterling’s second goal in the 3-1 victory over Watford was a tap-in after a typical piece of majestic play from David Silva. His third was a virtuoso’s dance through a packed defence a delicate fin... |
But over all the beauty lay a shadow. With City mired in controversy over allegations about attempts to circumvent Financial Fair Play rules and other practices that have encouraged an alphabet soup of authorities to open investigations into them, that was inevitable before this game kicked off. |
In the circumstances, the last thing City needed was another inquest, this time over something that happened on the pitch, but that is what they got. When they are locked in a title race with Liverpool that is so close that every point and every goal is important, it was also inevitable that their first goal should inv... |
Raheem Sterling took a David Silva pass inside the box, then he cut inside before clipping the ball home for his hat-trick |
Raheem Sterling took a David Silva pass inside the box, then he cut inside before clipping the ball home for his hat-trick |
Manchester City were struggling to find the breakthrough in the first half which ended goalless but dominated the second |
Manchester City were struggling to find the breakthrough in the first half which ended goalless but dominated the second |
Sterling's third effort of the evening was a stunning solo goal in which he weaved in and out of the Watford defence |
Sterling's third effort of the evening was a stunning solo goal in which he weaved in and out of the Watford defence |
MATCH FACTS, LIVE LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE |
Man City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Zinchenko; B. Silva, Gundogan, D. Silva; Mahrez (Foden 90), Aguero (Jesus 80), Sterling (Sane 65) |
Subs: Danilo, Laporte, Delph, Muric |
Goals: Sterling 46, 50, 59 |
Booked: Walker 6 |
Watford (4-5-1): Foster; Janmaat, Britos (Cathcart 82), Kabasele, Masina; Femenia (Deulofeu 65), Capoue, Doucoure, Cleverley, Success (Deeney 65); Gray |
Subs: Gomes, Sema, Quina, Holebas |
Goal: Deulofeu 66 |
Referee: Paul Tierney |
Booked: Cleverley 18 |
Season at a glance |
• Premier League |
• Premier League |
• Championship |
• League One |
• League Two |
• Scottish Premiership |
• Scottish Div 1 |
• Scottish Div 2 |
• Scottish Div 3 |
• Ligue 1 |
• Serie A |
• La Liga |
• Bundesliga |
It was a highly controversial start to the second half as Raheem Sterling put the ball in the net. It was initially ruled out for offside before being overturned. CLICK HERE to see more from Sportsmail's MATCH ZONE. |
It seemed straightforward enough. City, who went four points clear of Jurgen Klopp’s side with this win, and their fans had begun to grow frustrated at the stalemate developing in front of them when Sergio Aguero ran on to a through ball in the first minute of the second half and miscontrolled it. It rolled to Sterling... |
Sterling challenged for the ball but, before he could touch it, Watford defender Daryl Janmaat tried to clear it and it rebounded off Sterling and looped over Foster into the net. The linesman on the far side flagged for offside. It looked like the correct decision even though Sterling mouthed ‘no way, no way’ as he re... |
The laws of the game state that a player is active if he is challenging for the ball, which Sterling was. But the offside law has become stuck in confusion. The awarding of a penalty to Harry Kane in the North London derby recently, when he appeared offside, provoked a discussion with no clear outcome. |
And now, with so much on the line, there was more uncertainty. For some reason referee Paul Tierney ran over to his assistant to discuss his decision. The two men talked for three minutes, trying to keep worried Watford players at bay. |
Eventually Mr Tierney decided the goal should stand. He pointed to the centre circle and launched a thousand more unwanted and unneeded conspiracy theories. |
Watford made a double substitution and Ben Foster's long ball was headed on by Troy Deeney, who replaced Issac Success |
Watford made a double substitution and Ben Foster's long ball was headed on by Troy Deeney, who replaced Issac Success |
Tapping home past Ederson was Gerard Deulofeu who came on for Kiko Femenia to give the Hornets some hope |
Tapping home past Ederson was Gerard Deulofeu who came on for Kiko Femenia to give the Hornets some hope |
City would probably have won the game anyway. They were the dominant side. Watford, who had made seven changes from their last match, were offering very little. But who knows? When a title race is this tight, the least that clubs and fans should expect is some clarity in decisions. It is not fair on City, either. Their... |
There is an awkward symmetry about the fact that as they chase an unprecedented four trophies so they face an unprecedented four investigations about their financial dealings. |
There were suggestions that American-owned Premier League clubs, whose proprietors are used to strict financial regulations in US sports, have been particularly keen to prod the Premier League into investigating City. |
A grand slam of football authorities — FIFA, UEFA, the Premier League and the Football Association — are now doing so. |
The headline issue is their alleged manipulation of sponsorship income to try to circumvent UEFA’s FFP regulations but there are also questions about City’s acquisition of youth players, use of third-party ownership and questionable accounting over image rights. |
Their football has a habit of washing away bad headlines but they struggled to break Watford. |
No doubts about Raheem Sterling's second as a lovely move inside the box ended in Riyad Mahrez squaring the ball |
No doubts about Raheem Sterling's second as a lovely move inside the box ended in Riyad Mahrez squaring the ball |
The England international tapped home and Manchester City looked well on their way to opening up a four point gap |
The England international tapped home and Manchester City looked well on their way to opening up a four point gap |
The City winger celebrated with his team-mates as Pep Guardiola's side raced into a two-goal lead early in the second half |
The City winger celebrated with his team-mates as Pep Guardiola's side raced into a two-goal lead early in the second half |
The Hornets started with a pragmatic selection, resting Gerard Deulofeu and Troy Deeney, saving them for a day when they had more chance of winning. |
Straight after kick off they set up camp on the edge of their own area like an army prepared for a long siege and City began their bombardment. However tightly a team packs it defence, City always seem to be able to find holes in it and it only took three minutes for Silva to float a delicious ball over their defence f... |
Silva went close himself a couple of minutes later, flinging himself at a cross from Riyad Mahrez, getting to it before Foster but glancing it inches wide. After that, Watford soaked up everything, rarely venturing into City’s half. |
A rather dreary stalemate ensued until just before half an hour when Aguero headed wide from a driven Bernardo Silva cross when he should have scored. Pep Guardiola turned away and held his head in his hands. |
The first murmurs of restlessness began to creep into the atmosphere as half-time approached and still Watford would not yield. |
City have been content to watch as the narrative unfolded that Liverpool were buckling under the title pressure. The prospect of dropping points at home to Watford had not been factored into the equation. |
It was a controversial start to the second half as Raheem Sterling had the ball in the net but it was soon ruled out for offside |
It was a controversial start to the second half as Raheem Sterling had the ball in the net but it was soon ruled out for offside |
The referee then went into conversation with his assistant and they ruled the ball for Sterling took a touch off Daryl Janmaat |
The referee then went into conversation with his assistant and they ruled the ball for Sterling took a touch off Daryl Janmaat |
Watford were angry with Paul Tierney's decision to award the goal as Tom Cleverley and Janmaat protested to the referee |
Watford were angry with Paul Tierney's decision to award the goal as Tom Cleverley and Janmaat protested to the referee |
When the half-time whistle went, it was met with a crescendo of groans and boos. Some of them were aimed at Tierney, who had failed to spot a deflection that should have led to a City corner late in the half. |
Some of them were just a response a frustrating half low on excitement and low on opportunity. Watford had not mustered a single shot, on or off target. |
City had gone in goalless at the interval in their previous two league matches, against Bournemouth and West Ham, and won both games. |
They are no strangers to the exercise of patience but it turned out they did not need much once the second half had begun. It was less than a minute old when Sterling put them ahead with the controversial goal. |
The protests of the Watford players had barely subsided when City went further ahead. There were no arguments about the goal this time. It was fashioned by the magician David Silva, who slipped a pass through a defender’s legs and into the path of Mahrez. |
Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero looked a frustrated figure as his side tried to find the opening goal on Saturday |
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