The Ball Man

'You need to ask him to make short bursts of effort': Pep Guardiola claims Lionel Messi's world class longevity is down to limiting in-game running time Pep Guardiola claims a factor in helping Lionel Messi maintain his high level of performances has been limiting his 'bursts of effort.' Pep said 'Stars need to run like anyone else, if not the team can't cope, you need to convince them to run,' the Manchester City boss told Catalunya Radio. 'Sometimes, you say to them "I won't make you run 40 metres like the 20-year-old athlete in the team, but give me a reason not to run". 'If someone doesn't run, but scores three goals every game I can buy that, but nobody scores three goals a game, only Messi comes close. 'Right now, you need to ask Messi to make short bursts of effort. He can't run for the sake of running, no way. If Leo ran like he ran in his first season with me he'd be injured every three months. M

Liverpool legend says losing to Man United would be football's biggest upset since Wigan beat Man City Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has declared that a win for Manchester United against his old club today would be football's biggest upset since relegation-bound Wigan Athletic defeated Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup final. Despite being the two most-successful club sides in English football, the bitter rivals go into their latest battle with United 15 points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool and languishing in 14th position in the table – the lowest they've been going into such a game since a 16th placed Red Devils hosted Kenny Dalglish's table toppers in March 1990 en route to their last title to date. Writing in  The Sunday Times  , former Reds captain and manager Souness said: “If Manchester United beat Liverpool at Old Trafford today, it will be the biggest upset in top-flight football since Manchester City lost to Wigan in the 2013 F