Chelsea Striker Didier Drogba Hoping To Return To His Best After Suffering From Malaria

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is certain that he will return to his peak in no time, despite recently being diagnosed with malaria.

The Ivory Coast international had been unable to make consistent appearances for his team in recent times, but only recently found out that it was due to the infectious disease rather than a common fever.

The 32-year-old should be able to make a full recovery from the illnessin time, Drogba also hopes the early diagnosis will enable him to get back to his best as soon as possible.

"I want to score every game but when you can’t, when you’re not 100 percent, it’s better to try a way to help your team mates, maybe creating assists, maybe defending a little bit more," Drogba told the club's official website.

"I think I’ll get better and start to score again and if that’s what people want I think I can do that."

He added: "When you don’t know exactly what it [the illness] is and it’s not treated, it can come and go.

"You have some weeks when the fever can be high, that’s what I had, but now it will be better.

"Unfortunately we only found out [on Monday] it was malaria but I’ve had it for a month now. Now we know exactly what it is we can go forward."

Drogba is expected to recover in time to make a start in the west London derby against Fulham.

La Liga Standings

Club	P	G	W	D	L
1.Real Madrid	26	10	8	2	0
2.Barcelona	25	10	8	1	1
3.Villarreal	23	10	7	2	1
4.Espanyol	18	10	6	0	4
5.Valencia	17	10	5	2	3
6.Sevilla	17	10	5	2	3
7.Real Sociedad	16	10	5	1	4
8.Atletico Madrid	14	10	4	2	4
9.Mallorca	14	10	4	2	4
10.Athletic Bilbao	13	10	4	1	5
11.Getafe	13	10	4	1	5
12.Osasuna	12	10	3	3	4
13.Sporting de Gijon	10	10	2	4	4
14.Racing	10	10	3	1	6
15.Deportivo	10	10	2	4	4
16.Almeria	9	10	1	6	3
17.Hercules	9	10	2	3	5
18.Levante	8	10	2	2	6
19.Zaragoza	7	10	1	4	5
20.Malaga	7	10	2	1	7

Premiere League Standings

Club	P	G	W	D	L
1.Chelsea	25	11	8	1	2
2.Man Utd.	23	11	6	5	0
3.Arsenal	20	11	6	2	3
4.Man City	20	11	6	2	3
5.Newcastle	17	11	5	2	4
6.Bolton	15	11	3	6	2
7.Tottenham	15	11	4	3	4
8.Sunderland	15	11	3	6	2
9.Liverpool	15	11	4	3	4
10.West Bromwich	15	11	4	3	4
11.Everton	14	11	3	5	3
12.Blackpool	14	11	4	2	5
13.Fulham	13	11	2	7	2
14.Aston Villa	13	11	3	4	4
15.Birmingham	12	11	2	6	3
16.Blackburn	12	11	3	3	5
17.Stoke	10	11	3	1	7
18.Wigan Athletic	10	11	2	4	5
19.Wolves	9	11	2	3	6
20.West Ham	7	11	1	4	6

EXCLUSIVE: Patrice Evra Wants To Leave Manchester United At End Of Season And Join Real Madrid

Patrice Evra wants to leave Manchester United at the end of the season and finish his career at Real Madrid.
The Frenchman has opened talks with the club over an extension to his contract, which ends in June 2012, but has told friends that he is still open to a move to Spain.
Evra, who joined United for £5.5 million from Monaco in 2006, is willing to put pen to paper to secure his own future and at the same time help the club maximise their return if they cash in on one of their most saleable assets.
Nevertheless, he is holding out for a transfer to the continent and what, for the 29-year-old, could represent the final, major contract of his career.The Glazer family, who own United, have promised manager Sir Alex Ferguson that he will have £50m at his disposal to spend on new players next summer in addition to whatever he generates from player sales.
Ferguson does not want to lose Evra, who is widely regarded as one of the premier left-backs in the world and was a target last summer for Real manager Jose Mourinho.
“Patrice originally wanted to leave in January but now he is happy to sign a new contract and leave at the end of the season,” said a United source. “He is concerned about where the club are heading and is attracted by the possibility of playing for Real, a club he really admires.”
Ironically, the left-back was the most critical United player of Wayne Rooney’s claim last month before his contract U-turn that the 18 times League winners lack ambition, saying that “if one player doesn’t trust the others he should not play in the team”.
The source added: “Evra was the most angry when Rooney said he was going to leave and criticised the quality of the squad but that doesn’t mean he swears blind loyalty to Manchester United. Like any player, he wants what is best for himself and his family and sees Real Madrid as the perfect move.”

Sevilla 2 - 0 Valencia

Sevilla overpowered Valencia and condemned the visitors to their third loss in four games after a 2-0 victory on Monday night at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Second-half goals from Alvaro Negredo and Alfaro were enough to see Gregorio Manzano's side earn maximum points and join los Che on 17 points in the Liga table.

Sevilla looked to press forward in the opening minutes searching for a goal but Luis Fabiano, Martin Caceres and Romaric all squandered decent chances.
In 22nd minute the course of the match changed, when Caceres attempted to clear the ball out of midfield, and Mehmet Topal came in with his studs-up knocking the defender to the ground with a reckless tackle. The referee had no choice but to brandish a straight red card to the Turkish international, and Valencia were down to 10 men.

Valencia looked the more organised side for the remainder of the half, even though they were down a player, and looked to be the team with the numerical advantage.

It was the home side that broke the deadlock on 55 minutes however, when Caceres saw his long-range effort parried away, and Negredo followed up to smash the ball home.

The lead was then extended on 77 minutes when Sevilla captain Frederic Kanoute spotted Mouhamadou Dabo making a run on the right. His first-time cross into the middle found Alfaro and he headed home from five yards.
Diego Capel almost made it 3-0 in injury time, but his effort cannoned off the post.

Manchester City Will Not Stop Spending Until They Win Something - Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is sure Manchester City will not put the brakes on their transfer spending in the search for silverware.

Sheikh Mansour has invested huge amounts of money on players since he took control of City in 2008. As yet, the Sky Blues have not secured any trophies, but Ferguson thinks his wealthy local rivals will not stop spending until they have.

United travel to City on Wednesday with the fans aware of the fact that City have not won a title since the 1976 League Cup, and Ferguson has started the war of words with his comments about Roberto Mancini’s free-spending team.

"We know the kind of money they're spending - they've bought another five or six players in the summer - and they'll keep doing that until they win something," Ferguson told Inside United.

"You know that's going to be the way it is and you have to deal with it as it comes along." 

City made a number of high profile signings over the summer, including Mario Balotelli, David Silva, Yaya Toure and James Milner. 

Ferguson conceded City had started the season well and their early form has added an extra dimension to the title race and made Wednesday’s Manchester derby even more intense than usual.

"[City's good start this season] does put an edge on [the game]," the Reds boss noted.

"I don't believe there's any question about that.

"They're up there [challenging for the title], and you can't wait until tomorrow when there's something there today. I'm sure they're thinking that way themselves."

Both teams have been in stuttering form of late with City having lost three in a row, and United relying on a 94th minute goal to overcome Wolves at the weekend.

Fight Between Zlatan Ibrahimovic And Oguchi Onyewu Forces Milan To Abandon Training Session

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri was forced to abandon training on Friday after Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Oguchi Onyewu came to blows, according to Goal.com Italia.

It’s not yet known what exactly caused the row but it’s been reported that the 28-year-old American defender grabbed Ibrahimovic by the throat after he was tackled by the Sweden international. The former Barcelona striker then tried to retaliate and the pair had to be separated by team-mates.

However, Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has dismissed the fight as a minor matter. 

“It was a fairly lively fight, it happens when there is a rough challenge," he told Sky Sport 24.

“The players have been talked to. The incident is now over.”