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Thursday Kickoff: Wilshere and Mirallas escape punishment; Ancelotti slams PSG squad; and more

JackWilshereKevinMirallas (Getty)

By DAN KARELL

Both Arsene Wenger and David Moyes are likely breathing sighs of relief this morning.

The FA decided that they would not punish Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere and Everton forward Kevin Mirallas for an incident that happened during halftime of their match on Tuesday.

According to the reports from the Emirates Stadium, Mirallas sprayed some water at Wilshere as the two teams headed for the tunnel to the locker room, leading to the two nearly coming to blows as they headed under the stadium.

Mirallas’ Everton teammates helped break up the confrontation, giving the FA no reason to levy a punishment. Both Mirallas and Wilshere have been key players for their team this season, and losing them for any amount of time at this point of the season could be seen as a huge blow to each side’s Champions League hopes.

Here are some more stories to get your Thursday started:

ANCELOTTI UPSET WITH TEAM’S PERFORMANCE

For all the money spent the last two seasons improving the squad, Paris Saint-Germain are only in contention for one trophy at this point in the season.

After being knocked out of the Champions League last Wednesday, the French club suffered an embarrassing result, losing to 16th-placed Evian TG 4-1 in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France. The loss means that now PSG have only Ligue 1 to play for, for the rest of the season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva both missed in the penalty kick shootout, and manager Carlo Ancelotti said the team was too self-centered and not prepared for the match.

“Tonight was a disaster and our worst match of the season,” Ancelotti told Ligue1.com. “We were a bit full of ourselves and misplaced too many passes, lost the ball too easily.

“I’m angry with the whole team.”

PSG last won the French cup in 2010.

TOLUCA GOES OUT ON A HIGH NOTE

Though their Copa Libertadores campaign is over, Mexican side Toluca can be happy with the way they left the competition.

The Diablos Rojos defeated Boca Juniors on Wednesday night 3-2 in a match that saw the Argentine powerhouse tie the match on two occasions, before Toluca took the lead for good in the 81st minute. Toluca forward Edgar Benitez scored the opener with a cool left footed finish while Flavio Santos scored twice in the second half, first a diving header from a cross and then his game-winning header off a corner kick with nine minutes to go.

Boca tied the match the first time with a Juan Roman Riquelme corner kick ending up on the head of Leandro Somoza, who finished into an open net just before the half. The Argentine side tied the match a second time when Guillermo Fernandez finished into the top corner with a quality strike. Despite the loss, Boca secured a place in the knockout stages.

Around the continent, Barcelona of Ecuador defeated Uruguayan side Nacional 1-0, Argentinian club Arsenal de Sarandi defeated The Strongest 2-1, and Sao Paulo ended Atletico Mineiro’s undefeated run with a 2-0 win in a match of Brazilian powers.

QUICK KICKS

Ronaldinho has been recalled by Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari for their upcoming friendly match against Chile. (REPORT)

Inter Milan manager Andrea Stramacconi is not thinking about his future after Coppa Italia loss on Wednesday. (REPORT)

Ajax have denied that Liverpool have made a bid yet for midfielder Christian Eriksen. (REPORT)

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What do you make of these reports? Do you agree with the FA’s decision? Do you feel that Ancelotti has the right to be upset? Do you see Ronaldinho keeping his place in the Brazil squad for the Confederations Cup?

Share your thoughts below.

 

Comments

  1. Not sure if anyone saw this but Costa Rica has officially put in a request to FIFA to move the qualifier against the US to Saprissa stadium instead of the National stadium.

    Reply
    • I guess its safe to say they’re still mad about the Denver result! Saprissa may be one of the worst pitches in the world! Ahhhh, the joys of WCQ!

      Reply
    • Theyre really part of the second tier for me, I wouldnt call them a top team, they consistently are like 5-9 in the EPL but havent been higher than that since 2003 I believe.

      Reply
    • Its cute that your so ignorant you think they are not. Results against the big boys do the talking… Along with history (4th most successful English team of all time with 9 League Championships and numerous other trophies)

      Manchester United 1W 1L
      Man City 1W 1D
      Chelsea 1L
      Tottenham 1W 1D
      Arsenal 2D
      Liverpool 1D

      Reply
  2. The FA handled that well. It was boys being boys. They should consider growing up, but a fine or suspension would have been excessive.

    Reply

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