Dortmund can't rule out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sale - Watzke

Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his shootout with Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski for the Bundesliga's top scorer award at the weekend as the club admitted they could be forced to consider bids for the African Player of the Year in the summer.

At the weekend, Poland international Lewandowski netted twice as Bayern Munich retained their eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table with a 2-0 defeat of strugglers Hoffenheim.

His former Dortmund teammate also scored two late goals at the Westfalenstadion, and secured the Thomas Tuchel XI a hard-fought win against Ingolstadt.

Lewandowski has now scored 19 goals this season, which is two more than in his first year at Bayern, one less than in his last season in Dortmund, when he won the Torjagerkanone (the award for the Bundesliga top scorer), and only five short of his 2012-13 record of 24 strikes.

But Bayern forward was not able to pull level with the African Footballer of the Year Aubameyang. The Dortmund forward has already hit 20 goals this term, having scored a total of 29 in his first two Bundesliga seasons.

Aubameyang has now scored in each of Borussia's last 10 matches at the Westfalenstadion, and is just two matches short of Gerd Muller's and Jupp Heynckes' all-time record of scoring in 12 consecutive home games in Bundesliga.

The former Saint-Etienne attacker is under contract at Dortmund until 2020, having prolonged his contract prior to the 2015-16 Bundesliga season.

His form this term has seen him linked with several of Europe's top clubs, although Aubameyang has ruled out leaving Dortmund in the winter transfer window, while Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has said not even €100 million would secure his signature.

Speaking on Sky on Sunday night, Watzke retracted his statement, and said Borussia would at least listen to offers.

"Should there be an offer, we need to discuss it," Watzke said. "Should the offer be over €100 million, we'd need to also talk to the player."

But the Dortmund chief added that the club don't plan to sell, and hope to see Aubameyang score goals at the Westfalenstadion "beyond 2020."

Gary Neville bullish over Valencia future despite 'big disappointment'

Valencia coach Gary Neville is not concerned about his position at the Mestalla despite his side suffering their "most disappointing result of the season."

Neville's winless La Liga run as Valencia boss stretched to eight games on Sunday as his side were beaten 1-0 by relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon, leaving the team five points above the relegation zone.

The former Manchester United and England right-back was pleased with the performance of his players but was left bewildered as to how they lost the match.

Neville, whose side face Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Wednesday, said: "I find it difficult to explain that game.

"It's obviously the most disappointing result of the season here, but actually it doesn't tell the story of the game. That is not a game that we should lose, you all know that, you've watched enough matches over the years.

"I've had 14 matches since I came here. I've seen a performance I can relate to. I can sleep at night, knowing there is improvement, structurally in the team. But today I cannot explain the result. That game should be 4-1 or 5-1 in my opinion, four or five nil even.

"That would not have been unfair on Sporting Gijon. We were better team from first minute to last minute. They frustrated us, defended resolutely, their keeper wasted a lot of time. You have to commend their resilience.

"But how we've not won that game I can't explain. It is a big disappointment, but we haven't got time to be disappointed, we have Barca to play on Wednesday [in Copa]. We have 10 games in the next month, and we have to pick ourselves up.

"That's my job, the job of the players. I told them not to allow that result to cloud their mind. Against Getafe, and Rayo Vallecano, they were games we drew, a better result on paper, but I went home thinking there's lots to do.

"Today's game obviously a bit more fortunate in front of goal, and game completely changes. And Valencia are a team who win games 4-0. So tonight I sleep easier in my bed then after draws against Rayo and Getafe.

"Repeat the performance, and wins will come. That is the best performance by team all season, although probably worst result, which makes it difficult for me to take."

When asked about his future, Neville replied: "I find this question ridiculous. It's from you [journalist], don't put it on the fans. It's a big mistake you're making, misrepresenting what the 30,000 or 40,000 Valencia fans have actually shown out there today.

"Your job as reporter, I've been a reporter, is to represent fairly what happens."

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp calm despite facing eight February fixtures

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said it is not his place to criticise the fixture congestion that means his team face a match every three days in February.

Saturday's 0-0 draw with West Ham in the FA Cup at Anfield added another game to a schedule that could see Liverpool play eight times in the month.

Next week's rematch offers the winner a fifth-round visit to Blackburn -- and Liverpool already have three Premier League games, a two-legged Europa League tie against Augsburg and the Capital One Cup final on Feb. 28 to contend with.

"I think you would say I'm crazy if I sit there, punch the air and say: 'Yeah! Another game!'" Klopp told reporters, adding that German football did not have cup replays.

"There is a debate [about too many matches], but I come from Germany and I am coming from the outside, so I cannot lead it and say: 'Come on, let's make a 16-team league' or something like this.

"I love football. Usually I cannot get enough of it, but sometimes it's a bit different."

However, Klopp said the chance to play some of Liverpool's youngsters was a plus point of the extra games.
"In the cup you can do it like this, but you can't in the Premier League," he said. "It [the league] is the main tournament, and you have to take everything you can get.

"It's not possible in our situation to have three days off, and it's not easy. With this situation you have to be realistic, picking out the things we did good and knowing what is possible for the team with all these games."

Klopp added that he had been impressed with how his squad had applied themselves despite fixture demands shared only by Manchester City, who await Liverpool in the Capital One Cup final.

"We still try and give everything, and that's what I really like about my team," he said. "That is what I have learned about them, and I think we can take the next step when we have the time to work on it."

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AC Milan hammer Inter; Juventus stroll but Napoli stay top after rout

AC Milan humiliated their city rivals Inter Milan by winning the Derby della Madonnina 3-0 at San Siro.

The Rossoneri had not won the showpiece Serie A match in three attempts and entered Sunday's meeting in a distant sixth place, while Inter were eight points better off and still in the title race.

The script was flipped, however, with Alex powering home the opener before Inter captain Mauro Icardi - left on the bench by Roberto Mancini - missed a second-half penalty.

While the Nerazzurri were still sulking, Carlos Bacca and M'Baye Niang fired Milan to their best derby victory in five years.

Juventus strolled to a 4-0 victory over Chievo in Verona to record a 12th consecutive win in Serie A.

Juve took less than six minutes to open the scoring as Stephan Lichtsteiner delivered a perfect low cross and Alvaro Morata got goal-side of full-back Nicolas Frey to finish from six yards.

They doubled their lead five minutes before the break, Paulo Dybala and Sami Khedira linking up and the latter squaring across goal to serve up a mirror image of Morata's first finish.

The third came on the hour when Lichtsteiner and Paul Pogba combined to set up the chance and Alex Sandro stroked home left-footed.

Lichtsteiner failed to complete a one-two to Pogba in the box but the France star was not to be denied and slotted the fourth goal past Albano Bizzarri after jinking past Dario Dainelli on the edge of the box.

The result meant Juve went top of Serie A, but only for a couple of hours as Napoli came from a goal down to thrash Empoli 5-1.

After they fell behind to Leandro Paredes' opener, the southerners responded confidently. Paredes' dummied free kick took a heavy deflection off Callejon to fool Pepe Reina before nestling in the back of the net.

Napoli reacted typically quickly with Gonzalo Higuain grabbing his 22nd goal of the season. The Argentine burst into the box to meet Lorenzo Insigne's cross from the left and, in the 37th minute, provider turned goalscorer thanks to his well-placed free kick.

The Azzurri managed to extend their advantage when play resumed, Camporese perhaps unlucky to put the ball into his own goal when trying to anticipate Higuain's run.

Jose Callejon confirmed the outcome with quickly taken brace in the dying moments of the match.
Genoa and Fiorentina shared the points from a frustrating 0-0 draw at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

With the hosts needing to build a cushion above the relegation zone and Fiorentina watching their title challenge starting to fade, a draw did little to satisfy either club.

La Viola might well have triumphed, but Marcos Alonso was thwarted in second-half stoppage time.

Mattia Destro fired Bologna to a dramatic 3-2 home victory over Sampdoria at the Renato Dall'Ara.

The home side went two goals up inside 24 minutes as Anthony Mounier and Godfred Donsah scored to make life rather difficult for relegation-troubled Samp.

Vincenzo Montella's men hit back in the second half, however, with strikes from Luis Muriel and Joaquin Correa threatening to deny Bologna the chance to climb into the top half of the table.

But Destro stepped up to convert an 86th-minute penalty after former Sunderland midfielder Ricky Alvarez had handled the ball in the Samp box.

Both Udinese and Lazio had a player sent off during a bad-tempered 0-0 draw at Stadio Friuli.

Danilo did not reach half-time for the hosts -- the Brazilian centre-back fouled Filip Djordjevic twice inside 10 minutes to collect a pair of yellow cards.

Lazio could not exploit the extra space during a turgid second half and, shortly after Keita missed an open goal when Udinese goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis went missing, they lost a man, too.

Substitute Alessandro Matri saw red for dissent in the 85th minute and a point from the encounter was enough to boost Lazio into eighth place.

Hellas Verona's quest for a first win of the season continues after a 0-0 draw at Torino.

The basement boys -- 12 points from safety -- did well to hold out at the Stadio Olimpico, where mid-table Torino went close to scoring on numerous occasions.

Emmanuel Emenike completes West Ham loan move from Fenerbahce

West Ham have confirmed the signing of former Nigeria centre-forward Emmanuel Emenike on loan for the rest of the season from Fenerbahce.

Emenike, 28, hopes to have an instant impact for Slaven Bilic's squad, having known the Irons manager from his spells coaching in Russia and Turkey.

"I have always known West Ham as a great club. I have always been watching them. West Ham's a great club and I am very, very happy and very, very excited that I am here," Emenike told West Ham TV.

ICYMI: Watch Emmanuel Emenike's first interview as a #WHUFC player here > https://t.co/Ge5rjiSLl2 #WelcomeEmmanuel pic.twitter.com/3m3l3S1gHa

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"I've known him [Bilic] for years. When he was at Lokomotiv Moscow, I was at Spartak Moscow, then he came to Besiktas and I was in Fenerbahce, so we have known each other for a long time. I'm happy to be here and happy to play for him.

"We have followed each other's careers and thank God we are here today and we are here together."

Emenike added: "That is why I am here, to always be in the first XI, always try to make the fans happy and to make myself happy. I really hope it works out.

"The Premier League is the best in the world, it is everyone's dream to come and play here. I am excited to be here.

"But it is not always just about the player, it is team work and it is all about us as a team. I am here to play with the team and work with the team."

Emenike, capped 37 times by the Super Eagles, spent part of this season on a loan spell at Arabian Gulf League side Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

The Hammers have the option to make the transfer permanent in the summer, and the forward will provide some welcome attacking options for Bilic with Andy Carroll currently sidelined again by injury.

Ronaldo: Real Madrid's hard work under Zinedine Zidane showing

Cristiano Ronaldo says the hard work at training under new Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is paying off, and expressed his belief the Frenchman's methods have been better for the team than those employed earlier in the season.

The Portuguese forward scored his latest hat-trick in Sunday evening's 6-0 La Liga win over Espanyol at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Ronaldo moved to 19 goals in La Liga for the season with an early penalty, a superb solo effort and a late diving header to join Barcelona's Luis Suarez at the top of the latest pichichi top scorer standings.

Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Espanyol debutante Oscar Duarte [a late own-goal] were the other scorers as Madrid strolled to their third easy win in front of their own fans since Zidane replaced Rafa Benitez as coach in early January.

Speaking on Canal Plus after the final whistle, the Portugal captain said that the Frenchman had been working his players hard through recent weeks, and such extra physical work was paying off.

"The team are working very well," Ronaldo said. "Zizou has done phenomenal work, we feel better, fitter. You can see the results on pitch, we won well. It has been a positive month. We needed it as the preseason was not very good, a lot of travelling. Zizou has a different idea of work, and it is better for the players. We must continue like this."

With Madrid 4-0 up by half-time, the second half was more relaxed, with the visitors even forcing a few saves from the previously-underworked home keeper Keylor Navas. Ronaldo said it was "normal" for his team to ease off, and they had showed they were physically strong when coming back to equalise in last week's 1-1 away draw at Real Betis.

"I think that when you have a big lead it is normal, the team feels good," he said. "We saw in second half against Betis, when we needed it, we were intense and ran more. We were 4-0 up, players were relaxed, less intense, but we still scored two more."

Eight of Ronaldo's 19 La Liga goals have come in the two meetings against Espanyol, but Ronaldo rejected the idea that there were weaker opponents in the Spanish top flight.

"I am very happy, another hat-trick," Ronaldo said. "But the most important is the team to keep going, keep playing well, and goals come naturally. In my opinion there are no weaker opponents. It goes well, when you are intense, and play well."

The result still sees Madrid in third position in the La Liga table, four points behind leaders Barcelona [who have a game in hand], and one behind Atletico Madrid in second place.

Ronaldo admitted that Barca were doing well at the moment, however he maintained that there was a long way to go until the trophy would be handed out at the end of the season.

"We must continue like this," he said.
"We must not think about Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. They are doing well, winning, but we must keep working. A lot of La Liga is still to go. We know we are a bit back, but accounts are done at the end of the season."

Bayern Munich must decide if they want to buy players, not me - Guardiola

Bayern Munich are unlikely to delve into the transfer market on deadline day, despite losing Javi Martinez to injury, with manager Pep Guardiola saying it's up to the club whether they want to sign any new players.

The Spanish defender was ruled out of Bayern's 2-0 win over Hoffenheim on Sunday due to a knee injury which will see him face a spell on the sidelines.

However, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge insisted that the injury was not too serious and said that no emergency cover was likely to be sought on Monday.

With Jerome Boateng ruled out for up to three months, Bayern are short on backup in defence with Joshua Kimmich deputising on Sunday.

"Javi Martinez's injury will only be a matter of weeks, not months,'' Rummenigge said, echoing the comments made by Bayern's director of sport Matthias Sammer before the game that the Spaniard will not be out for a long time.

"It is neither ruled out nor probable that somebody will come. We had given signing a new player great thought, even after Jerome Boateng's injury.''

Coach Pep Guardiola has not made any demands for new recruits, insisting he is happy with the players he has already got and praising 20-year-old Kimmich for the job he did on Sunday.

"He showed us once again that he can also play as a defender,'' Guardiola said. "He's quick, strong in the air. He's a sweet, sweet lad.''

And if Kimmich were to fall foul of the club's current injury curse, Guardiola has another idea.

"We also have Manuel Neuer who can play in that position,'' joked the Catalan, whose side are once again eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga. In just over three weeks, they travel to Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

By then he will hope to have Martinez back and Medhi Benatia.

"Benatia needs about two or three more weeks before he is fully fit again,'' Guardiola added. "Boateng will be out for longer but Javi won't be out for long.

"If the club want to sign a new player, that's their thing, not mine.''

Chelsea haven't closed door on John Terry exit, says club spokesperson

Chelsea insist they have not closed the door on the possibility of extending captain John Terry's contract beyond the summer.

Terry revealed after Chelsea's 5-1 victory over MK Dons in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday that he had been informed his current deal would not be renewed prior to the Blues 1-0 win against Arsenal earlier this month.

But while Chelsea have confirmed they declined to offer Terry a new contract at a meeting requested by the 35-year-old, they are keen to stress that no final decision has been made on whether to let him go.

"John requested a meeting with the club the week before last," a Chelsea spokesman told ESPN FC. "In that meeting he asked about the possibility of an extension to his existing contract.

"John was advised that while no new deal was currently on the table, that situation could change in the coming months. The club has the utmost respect for John and everything he has helped us achieve to date.

"He is a fantastic servant of Chelsea Football Club and a superb captain and, as such, the club will keep the channels of dialogue open."

Terry claimed that he requested the meeting to discuss his future after his agent was first notified of Chelsea's position over the phone, and added that he will not consider the possibility of following in the footsteps of fellow Blues legend Frank Lampard by playing for a Premier League rival once he leaves Stamford Bridge.

"My agent made the call like we do every January," Terry said. "He got told over the phone and I called to set up a meeting the following day. The club immediately set that up which was great of them to do. I wanted to hear it face to face. They told me.

"Unfortunately it's not going to be. I feel as though I'm in great nick, I'm playing great and I've got a couple of years to go. It'll just be elsewhere.

"I couldn't play for another Premier League club. It will be elsewhere for sure. I don't know where and I leave that to the people in charge of me and the clubs who make offers. It certainly won't be in the Premier League."

Ronaldo hat trick powers Real Madrid past Espanyol; Valencia fall again

Cristiano Ronaldo's hat trick helped Real Madrid close the gap on Barcelona as they thumped Espanyol 6-0.

The forward has scored 30 goals for Madrid this term and they now trail Primera Division leaders Barcelona by four points and sit just one behind city rivals Atletico.

Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Ruben Duarte's own goal sealed Madrid's demolition job.

They go to Granada next Sunday hoping to catch Barcelona after Luis Enrique's side beat Atletico 2-1 at the Nou Camp on Saturday.

The pressure on Valencia boss Gary Neville increased on Sunday after they lost 1-0 at home to Sporting Gijon.

Neville's winless Primera Division run stretched to eight games despite the hosts being the dominant side for most of the game. They failed to take a string of chances and fell behind to Antonio Sanabria's penalty on 50 minutes.

They continued to throw everything at their opponents but Alvaro Negredo missed two clear chances to equalise and Los Che suffered a third league defeat under Neville -- their first home loss in La Liga since 2014.

Neville's side stayed 12th in the standings, now 19 points from fourth place, while Sporting moved two points away from the relegation zone.

Kevin Gameiro played a starring role as Sevilla climbed to fifth following a 3-1 win over bottom club Levante.

Sevilla's unbeaten run goes back to early January, and it showed in their attitude, as a quickfire attack saw them score after just 50 seconds, Gameiro converting from close range after a cross was deflected into his path.

Gameiro turned provider a minute after the half-time, unselfishly cutting back to Vicente Iborra for a simple tap-in, this after Sevilla had put together another quick passing move involving Jose Antonio Reyes.

Levante were given hope in the 55th minute when Giuseppe Rossi's close-range shot was too good for Rico to stop and the forward continued to threaten the Sevilla goal on occasion.

However, with 15 minutes remaining, Ukraine international Yevhen Konoplyanka swung in a superb right-foot shot from just inside the box which flew into the top corner, putting the game to bed.

Las Palmas moved out of the Primera Division drop zone after a last-minute winner from Willian Jose gave them a precious 2-1 victory over 10-man Celta Vigo.

The midfielder scored with virtually the last kick of the game to give Quique Setien's side a first league win of 2016.

A controversial penalty scored by Las Palmas midfielder Jonathan Viera had cancelled out Theo Bongonda's early opener, while Fabian Orellana was sent off in the second half for the Galicians.