De Rossi banned for three matches

Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi has been handed a three-match ban following his straight red card against Lazio at the weekend.



De Rossi was dismissed by referee Gianluca Rocchi in the closing seconds of the first half after he slapped Lazio's Stefano Mauri.



The Lega Serie A frowned on the Italy international's actions and slapped him with a suspension.



The 29-year-old was already dropped from the Italy squad by national team coach Cesare Prandelli following his red card, and he will now have to watch Roma's next three league games from the stands too.



His suspension means that De Rossi misses Serie A matches versus Torino, Pescara and Siena.



Roma coach Zdenek Zeman will also be without the likes of Nicolas Burdisso and Panagiotis Tachtsidis against Torino as the duo were handed one-match bans after they both received their fourth yellow card of the season against Lazio.

The top stories from papers and websites - 13 November 2012

• Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is keeping tabs on England wonderboy Wilfried Zaha.


• West Ham fear they will be priced out of an ambitious move for Nicolas Anelka.


• Everton are keeping tabs on Anderlecht striker Dieumerci Mbokani, who could be available for £2million.


• Michael Owen's hamstring injury has wrecked Cameron Jerome's hopes of escaping his Stoke nightmare.


• Manchester United watched Porto winger James Rodriguez on Sunday - for the seventh time this season.


• Sheffield Wednesday are set to sign £8million Sunderland striker Connor Wickham on a month's emergency loan.

• Mario Balotelli is on his way out of Manchester City after partying 12 hours before Sunday's game.


• Roberto Mancini will now get the OK to make a club-record £35million bid for Atletico Madrid's Radamel Falcao once Mario Balotelli leaves.


• John Terry hopes to play again before Christmas after a scan on his right knee revealed no serious damage.


• Mark Clattenburg has been left off the Premier League fixture list for the third weekend as the John Obi Mikel race row rumbles on.


• Wilfried Zaha celebrated his England call-up with the news he is a target for Real Madrid.


• Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud insists he is now justifying his £12million fee - and hopes to score 15 Premier League goals.


• Rio Ferdinand will decide on his future at Manchester United in the summer.


• Arsenal are tracking Burnley's England Under-21 right-back Kieran Trippier.


• Phil Brown will be named as Hartlepool's new boss in the next 24 hours.


• Watford are keen to turn Matej Vydra's loan move into a permanent switch.

• Wilfried Zaha is refusing to commit himself to England, even though he is expected to make his debut in Sweden tomorrow night.


• Newcastle have resumed their bid to sign Lille right-back Mathieu Debuchy.


• Fulham are interested in Molde defender Vegard Forren, who has been linked with Manchester United and Everton.


• Espanyol and Valencia want to take Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu back to Spain.


• Rio Ferdinand has told Manchester United there is no guarantee he will sign a new contract.


• West Ham defender Winston Reid is set to be offered a new deal.


• Brighton want Hungarian duo Akos Buzsaky and Gabor Gyepes, who will be free in January.

• Steven Gerrard has been given the green light to win his 100th England cap.


• England were warned last night that Wilfried Zaha could still turn his back on them to play for Ivory Coast.


• Chelsea captain John Terry last night found out he could be back from injury before Christmas.


• Birmingham have ended the loan of Leroy Lita a month early.

• Peterborough club captain Gaby Zakuani is among four players fined and put on the transfer list after a break of club discipline.


• Andriy Shevcehnko has been offered the position of Ukraine head coach after Oleg Blokhin left to take over Dynamo Kiev.

• Mario Balotelli does not want to leave Manchester City, despite a struggle to make a lasting impact at the club, which saw him dropped from the squad for Sunday's win over Tottenham.


• Crystal Palace prodigy Wilfried Zaha has turned down the Ivory Coast's invitation to join their squad for January's African Cup of Nations in January, with the Football Association increasingly confident that he will now commit his future to England having been called up to Roy Hodgson's squad for tomorrow's friendly against Sweden.

• Premier League clubs are in for a huge hike in television income from next season, with revenue from domestic and global TV rights deals on course to top £5bn by the time the final overseas contracts are tied up next month.


• John Terry may be out for only a fortnight after initial scans on his damaged right knee suggested he sustained no significant damage during Chelsea's draw with Liverpool on Sunday.

• Chelsea have been boosted by confirmation that John Terry's knee injury will rule him out for "a matter of weeks, not months".

• Derby's superteen midfielder Will Hughes is on the menu for Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.

• Internacional striker Leandro Damiao - a long-term Tottenham target – says if he makes move to Europe it will be for Real Madrid.

Cech: Suarez is not a cheat

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has leapt to the defence of Luis Suarez, claiming the Liverpool striker has an unfair reputation as a diver.



Suarez has frequently been criticised by rival managers for going to ground too easily, but Cech believes the Uruguay international deserves credit for his performance during Sunday's 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.



Suarez threatened to snatch a late winner for Liverpool but the keeper praised Suarez for staying on his feet when he could have tried to win a penalty.



"We should give Suarez credit because when we had a one- versus-one, he didn't try to cheat and jump or dive, and that was a fair thing for him to do," Cech said in the Sun.



"We all know how dangerous he is in the box. He's a natural goalscorer, always in the right place to tap the ball in. It's a gift not everyone has. He is on fire this season in terms of scoring goals and, unfortunately, he had the chance to keep that run going on Sunday."



Suarez appeared to push Ramires before nodding in a second-half equaliser to earn a point for Liverpool but Cech says Chelsea can have no complaints as they should have killed off the game earlier.



"Suarez is a clever player and he did it in a moment when the referee and his assistant couldn't have seen it," Cech said. "I don't know how much of a push there was by Suarez but we should have been 3-0 up and we shouldn't be discussing the incident."



Having failed to keep a single clean sheet in his last eight Chelsea games, Cech is hoping to stop leaking goals to ensure his side remain in the title race after the Blues picked up just two points from their last three Premier League games.



"Every single point matters when you want to win the league and even goal difference can be decisive," Cech said. "It is looking like the title race is going to be between three teams this season and we have lost valuable points in our last three games against United, Swansea and now Liverpool.



"Sometimes I would like more clean sheets but the most important thing is to win so, even if it finishes 5-4, I can live with it. Winning 5-4 is better than drawing 0-0 but if you don't keep clean sheets you always have to score more than one."

Coaching career beckons for Crespo

Former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo is looking forward to a fresh challenge as he prepares to embark on a coaching career.



The 37-year-old former Chelsea and AC Milan striker retired in February this year to bring an end to a prolific career which saw him score 305 goals for club and country.



And the three-time Serie A champion is excited by the prospect of finishing his coaching badges and will be open to offers from clubs in any country.



"I've finished being a football player and I want to be a trainer," Crespo said.



"I will start to study and I will finish in June. Why not start in July? I will listen for offers and where to start (his coaching career).



"When you start to think about being a football trainer you need to take you badges and start to do it. For me, [whether] I start in Italy, Switzerland or Argentina, it's the same. I want to start and if I can make something like my career like a football player, then why not?"

Rooney relieved to score spot-kick

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney admitted luck played a significant part as he bounced back from his penalty miss against Arsenal by converting one in Braga.



Rooney has a mixed record with spot-kicks and became the fourth United player to miss one this season when he struck wide in United's 2-1 Premier League victory over the Gunners at Old Trafford on Saturday.



But that did not deter him from stepping up four days later to take on the responsibility again when the Red Devils were awarded another one with five minutes of normal time remaining in their Champions League Group H clash at the Estadio AXA.



After substitute Robin van Persie's 80th-minute effort had cancelled out Alan's opener - also a penalty - for the hosts four minutes into the second half, it was an opportunity to put United in front for the first time and Rooney, who had earned the spot-kick when Nuno Coelho was adjudged to have fouled him, made the most of it by beating goalkeeper Beto with a firm shot.



The 27-year-old appeared to skid a little on the wet surface as he fired the ball in and he conceded afterwards that he had been "a bit fortunate".



Asked if he had had any doubts about taking the penalty, Rooney said: "No, not at all.



"Obviously I was disappointed at the weekend, not only to miss but to miss the target.



"I said after the game it wasn't good enough and (against Braga) I was a bit fortunate; I slipped but thankfully it's gone in so I'm happy with that.



"At the time it happened so quick, but obviously I've seen it going towards the goal and the keeper going the other way.



"I was happy with it going in but obviously I've been quite lucky with that."



With Javier Hernandez adding a close-range finish in stoppage-time, United went on to complete a 3-1 victory that was their fourth win in four Group H fixtures and guarantees them top spot and a place in the last 16.



It was the just the latest in a host of come-from-behind wins for United this season that had certainly not looked on the cards for most of the contest in Portugal, which they had struggled to really get going in and was halted for around 15 minutes not long after Alan's goal by some of the floodlights going out in a power cut - seemingly to the visitors' benefit.



"I think we can play better football - at times it was too slow but the result is the most important thing," Rooney said.



"I think we had quite a bit of possession, we just needed a bit more movement and speed to our play, and thankfully in the last 10 or 15 minutes, when it mattered, we got them."



Veteran United midfielder Ryan Giggs, who came into the first XI as one of six changes from the Arsenal game, felt the introduction of Van Persie shortly after the resumption of play following the power cut was crucial.



The striker subsequently netted his 11th goal of the season by expertly guiding the ball over the stranded Beto from outside the box when the goalkeeper rushed out too soon, and Giggs can see why some of his team-mates have been drawing comparisons between Van Persie and his fellow Dutchman, the former United frontman Ruud van Nistelrooy.



"It wasn't until after we went 1-0 down - probably when Robin came on - that we started to play a little bit better," Giggs, 38, said.



"His confidence is just sky high at the moment.



"I read last week that a lot of the players think he's similar to Ruud in the respect that Ruud used to get a chance and more often than not he'd put them away.



"That's the case with Robin at the minute; his confidence is high, we're creating chances for him and he's putting them away."



With a maximum 12 points, United - who also currently lead the Premier League - are eight points clear of Galatasaray and Cluj in Group H, and nine in front of Braga, with two rounds of group games to go.

Martinez will not sell Al-Habsi

Roberto Martinez expects Ali Al-Habsi to still be a Wigan player in February despite reports linking the keeper with a move to Liverpool during the transfer window.



Al-Habsi has been an important player for the Latics in recent seasons and his impressive form has seen him linked with a move to a bigger club.



Reports on Wednesday claimed Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had set his sights on signing the keeper in January, but Martinez has made it clear he will not be selling the player to the Reds or any other club.



“I don’t think there is any truth behind it. Any rumour that you can see with any of our players I see as a compliment. You don’t get links if you are not playing well,” Martinez commented.



“We are really focused on what we want to achieve and we are looking to improve the squad, window after window.



“We are relaxed about it. He is on a long-term contract and is an important player for us.



“The rumours are going to be there, as he is playing well, he has been impressive. He has developed as a player and is reaching good levels. But he has a long way to go.”

Wilfried Bony linked with Blues

Chelsea are believed to have entered the race to sign Vitesse Arnhem star Wilfried Bony when the transfer window re-opens.



Blues boss Roberto Di Matteo is known to be in the hunt for another striker and could turn to Bony, who has bagged 30 goals in just 46 appearances for the Dutch club.



The 23-year-old is attracting plenty of interest with Newcastle, Udinese and Napoli all thought to be keen on doing a deal and now Chelsea have been added to that list.



It is thought the Dutch club would cash in for a fee in the region of £8million and that is a significantly less than the £46million it would take to lure Radamel Falcao away from Atletico Madrid.