Sergio Busquets: Manchester City's excuses are for losers

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Sergio Busquets has hit back at Manchester City following their criticism of referee Jonas Eriksson's performance in Barcelona's 2-0 Champions League win at the Etihad on Wednesday by stating "excuses are for losers".

City manager Manuel Pellegrini accused the Swedish official of favouring Barcelona after the Catalan club secured a 2-0 win in the first leg of the sides' UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie on Tuesday.

Eriksson sent Martin Demichelis off early in the second half and awarded a penalty for a challenge on Lionel Messi when the initial contact appeared to have been made outside the area.

"The excuses when you lose are for losers," he told reporters. "Is better [to] forget and focus on the next match."

Pellegrini claimed that Swedish official Eriksson did not have control of the game and sided with Spanish champions to redeem him after failing to award them a penalty in a game against Milan at the same stage last year.

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Uefa are investigating the Chilean's post-match comments and Busquets accused City of sour grapes following their reaction to the defeat which leaves the Premier League club's Champions League hopes hanging by a thread.

"I think that we have been winning everything without any difficulties until not long ago," he continued. "I think that the referees make mistakes frequently. Sometimes those mistakes are good for you and other times are bad.

"They give more importance to an error on our behalf, in any game or any result. That happened a few days ago against Manchester City.

"You have to leave the referees do their job. Sometimes their mistakes will be on your behalf and some others not."

The two sides lock horns in the second leg at Camp Nou on March 12.

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Sochi 2014: Vanessa Mae ready for Olympic debut

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She will compete for Thailand under her father's name Vanakorn after qualifying for the Games last month.

The British citizen, 35, who has sold more than 10 million records worldwide, has been skiing since she was four.

"Finishing within 20 seconds of the leaders would be a good effort," said former GB Olympic skier Emma Carrick-Anderson.

Vanessa-Mae, who was born in Singapore to a Chinese mother and Thai father, was brought up in England but will be only the third person to represent Thailand at the Winter Olympics.

She is comfortably the lowest-ranked racer in the field, at 2,253rd in the world, but some of skiing's biggest names are looking forward to competing alongside her.

"I find it thrilling that people like that [are here]," said Germany's Maria Hofl-Riesch, a three-time Olympic champion who won the super-combined event and was second in the super-G in Sochi.

"When you see Vanessa-Mae, she's so small and fragile, you can't imagine how she can finish a run like that or even hit a gate. Babsie [team-mate Barbara Wirth] told us that she didn't do so badly and we'll be watching closely."

Carrick-Anderson, who competed in four Olympics, said the musician's biggest problem would be coping with the slick slopes that are water-injected overnight to make them extra icy.

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"If she had to race last week it would have been an absolute nightmare," said Carrick-Anderson.

Skier Vanessa-Mae of Thailand waves to the crowd during the opening ceremony

"Even on my skis, which are really sharp, skiing on the downhill piste was gruelling. The top part was sheet ice, proper shiny 'ice rink on its side' type ice.

"No recreational skier would be able to do anything on that. It would be terrifying - they would be going sideways. You couldn't even try to grip."

The Rosa Khutor giant slalom course will begin lower down the mountain, and the recent warm weather is likely to have softened the snow. Racers have two runs, with the fastest combined time winning.

"Now it has warmed up, it is going to be that little bit more forgiving," added Carrick-Anderson.

"By the time she goes there will probably be a little track, which will also make it easier for her."

Britain's Chemmy Alcott had a look at the giant slalom course on Monday and believes Vanessa-Mae, who is now based in the Alpine resort of Zermatt in Switzerland, will cope with the conditions.

"I skied next to the piste and the injection looks great and is smooth so I think she will be fine," said Alcott, who come 19th in the downhill and 23rd in the super-G in her fourth and final Olympics.

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Vanessa-Mae says she is well aware of the enormous challenge she faces against a field of vastly-experienced competitors.

"If I end up last I have no problem with that," she said.

"I know that I spent six months training. Other athletes have been training since they were six years old so that's something you can't compare.

"I just want to have a good time. I want to have two fun runs that I can say I'll remember for the rest of my life.

"To be here at the Olympics is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I feel so blessed to have this chance to go from artist to athlete, to just experience this is surreal almost."

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Arsenal ready to bid €30m for Balotelli

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The January transfer window came and went without Arsene Wenger adding world class striker to assist Olivier Giroud.  

So, it seems likely that Arsenal will be linked with a host of hitmen in the coming months and Italian news outlet Mediaset has a semi-plausible story regarding a move for Mario Balotelli today.

Mediaset claim Arsenal have already informed AC Milan they would be willing to pay 30 million euros to bring Mario Balotelli back to the Premier League next season.

And, Balotelli’s notorious agent Mino Raiola is expected to meet with Arsene Wenger “shortly”.

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Rumours surrounding Balotelli’s private life have flooded the Italian media in recent weeks and led to Super Mario crying on the bench on Saturday night after he was withdrawn from AC Milan’s defeat at Napoli.

Key to the move, according to Mediaset, is the fact Arsenal have agreed a new sponsorship deal with Puma who are also the boot sponsors of Balotelli.

And, the 30 million euro fee would offset any financial problems AC Milan could face without Champions League next season.

Whilst a Mario Balotelli move to Arsenal seems somewhat plausible, would Arsene Wenger really be keen to work with one of the worst behaved footballers known to modern football?!

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Arsenal miss the chance to go on top rank in English Premier League

A fixture known down the years for tunnel bust-ups and flying pizza will be best remembered as the night Manchester United fans had no idea how to get home.

The most interesting moment of the evening came when the Arsenal public announcer informed the 3,000 travelling United supporters that horrendous weather conditions in the north west had forced the cancellation of all trains from Euston to Manchester.

They might as well have left the stadium immediately because there was nothing to see here.

The talk in the days building up to this game surrounded the possibility that it might be called off had the planned tube strike gone ahead.

Some of the fans will wish they hadn’t bothered.

Others who arrived late due to travel chaos and terrible weather can be rest assured they missed nothing of note.

In different circumstances, a point away at Arsenal might be considered a good result for United and David Moyes given the pressure on the Scot in the wake of Sunday’s home draw with Fulham.

But not when it leaves last year’s Premier League champions 11 points off the top four with 12 games to play this season.

It was a back-to-basics performance from United built on the same tactics Moyes used on his visits to top four sides when in charge of Everton.

United were happy to sit deep and ask Arsenal to break them down, hoping to poach a goal on a rare counter-attack.

They did the first part well enough, but Robin van Persie, on his return to north London, was twice denied by the excellent Wojciech Szczesny when the Dutchman should have scored.

The visitors were, first and foremost, terrified of a ninth defeat of the season and went to north London with the purpose of taking a point back to Old Trafford.

It could hardly have been further from the blood and thunder, up-and-at-’em games of yesteryear between these two clubs.

The significance of the result to Arsenal was vocalised by the boos of the home supporters at the final whistle.

The Gunners themselves looked scarred by Saturday’s humbling 5-1 defeat away at Liverpool - more fearful of back-to-back defeats than energised by the chance to reclaim top spot in the Premier League.

The closest they came to breaking the deadlock was a Laurent Koscielny header from a corner that Antonio Valencia managed to clear off the line.

Olivier Giroud offered no threat in the final third and Mesut Ozil again struggled the create chances for team-mates as the hosts continue to miss the driving forward runs of the injured Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott.

Arsene Wenger’s side were timid and conservative, as if learning to walk again after being floored, mentally and physically, by blow of the Liverpool defeat.

Wenger described that Liverpool result as an ‘accident’ but you have to wonder whether Arsenal’s old mental fragility may again come to the fore in the final stages of the campaign.

Either way, a 0-0 bore draw was a huge missed opportunity and a result that suited neither side in their ambitions for the season, as Arsenal chase the title and United eye an increasingly unlikely top-four finish.

Arsenal applied a little more pressure late on, perhaps aware of United's poor record in the closing stages of matches.

United held on for a draw and Moyes seemed quite happy to have avoided yet another defeat. For everyone else, though, it was a thoroughly unsatisfactory evening.

Premier League: Man City and Everton games postponed

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The Premier League games Manchester City and Everton were scheduled to host on Wednesday were postponed amid safety concerns caused by high winds.

City's meeting with Sunderland was called off by the club's safety officer and the local police "due to exceptional and escalating weather".

Police advised Everton to reschedule their match with Crystal Palace because of nearby building damage.

Neither club has yet announced when the rearranged fixtures will take place.

Stoke's home match against Swansea was only given the go-ahead after two safety inspections, with a 15-minute delay to kick-off.

Earlier in the day, the League One meeting between Sheffield United and Brentford was postponed after heavy rain waterlogged the Bramall Lane pitch.

Fans attending matches that survived the weather may still face considerable travel disruption, with gusts of wind in excess of 80mph causing delays and cancellations across the rail network and motorway closures.

Manchester City's schedule is already busy, with the club having reached the Capital One Cup final and still involved in the Champions League and FA Cup.

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But manager Manuel Pellegrini, whose side may have gone top of the league had they beaten Sunderland, agreed with the decision to call off their match.

"We were ready to play this game, but the well-being of the people coming to the Etihad is paramount," he said.

"We hope everybody gets home safely, both in Manchester and Sunderland."

Everton counterpart Roberto Martinez backed the decision to call off his club's game.

"Because of the wind, there has been a lot of building damage and the last thing we want is for any of the fans to get put in a position that is dangerous," he said.

"It is disappointing because we were ready to go out and warm up. The preparation was there for both teams and you get the anti-climax."

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Steven Gerrard Scores Late Penalty Kick As Liverpool Defeats Fulham

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LONDON -- Steven Gerrard scored a last-minute penalty as Liverpool followed up its weekend thrashing of Arsenal with a gritty 3-2 win at last-place Fulham in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Gerrard stroked home the spot kick after Sascha Riether fouled Daniel Sturridge in the 90th minute.

After routing Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield on Saturday, Liverpool had to come from behind twice for a precious victory at Craven Cottage.

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Liverpool's Kolo Toure gifted Fulham the opening goal as the defender sliced the ball into his own net from Kieran Richardson's cross.

Sturridge levelled before the interval, slotting home off the post after Gerrard had played a superb defence-splitting pass into his path.

Richardson put the Cottagers back in front in the 63rd minute, only for Philippe Coutinho to equalize in the 72nd.

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