Mourinho storms out of press conference

Jose Mourinho walked out of his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Steaua Bucharest.

Mourinho was angered by questions surrounding the absence of Belgian attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who did not travel to the Romanian capital after being left out of the squad.

The Portuguese's decision to leave Spanish playmaker Juan Mata out of a number of games this term has come under much scrutiny, although the 25-year-old is in line to start on Tuesday after setting up the equaliser in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Tottenham last Saturday.

Former Inter and Real Madrid manager Mourinho - in his second stint with Chelsea - has clearly grown tired of questions over his decisions, though, as the 50-year-old responded irritably following enquiries as to why De Bruyne has been omitted.

"This is fantastic because no one asks me about [Juan] Mata. You have spoken about Mata for three weeks. Now you're asking about Kevin," he told reporters.

"You are interested in the players who are not playing. He was not selected. It was my decision. Only 11 can play and I tried to decide, by what they do on the pitch when they play and in training.

"I try to be honest all the time. I was honest with Juan because of what he's done in training and what he's done in the game he played, and so he plays.

"With Kevin I didn't like the match he played against Swindon [in the League Cup], and I didn't like the way he was training.

"But you only ask about the guys who were not selected. Thank you."

Mourinho then left the room and will hope his players do the talking for him at the Arena Nationala as they look to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat to Basel in their opening Champions League fixture.

Manchester United star Van Persie out of Liverpool clash

Robin van Persie is out of Manchester United's Capital One Cup clash with Liverpool on Wednesday due to injury.

The striker picked up a groin problem prior to the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday and did not feature at the Etihad Stadium.

David Moyes has confirmed the Dutchman will not be involved at Old Trafford, but has an "outside chance" of featuring against West Brom in the Premier League on September 28.

Speaking at press conference ahead of the Liverpool match, Moyes said: "I don't think Robin will play on Wednesday. But I think he'll have an outside chance for Saturday.”

Moyes also believes it is time to move on from their convincing derby day weekend defeat and believes he will learn more about his players character in the coming weeks.

He continued: "It's gone now. I can't do anything about it so we move on and get ready for the next game.

“I'm still getting to know all the players. I'll get to know a few more this week and see what they can do."

Finally he talked up the rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool and hinted he will include a number of established players for the Capital One Cup clash, in a match which could mark Luis Suarez's return to competitive action for Merseyside outfit.

He added: “It's a big rivalry and it could take on a bigger significance than people might expect.

"I think it means that Liverpool have a got a really good player. Does it change the complexion? I don't know. I'm not looking at Liverpool too much except that I know the quality of Luis Suarez is very good.

"The cup has been a route to giving young players an opportunity, but obviously this is a really big tie."

Manchester United currently sit in eighth spot in the Premier League, having taken seven points from their opening five league matches.

'Messi defied Guardiola in front of Barcelona team-mates'

Lionel Messi deliberately went against the orders of his former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, according to ex-New York Red Bulls boss Hans Backe.

The 61-year-old has never previously had any direct association with Barca, but his tenure in charge of the Red Bulls coincided with the stays of Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez, both of whom were Blaugrana players when the alleged incident occurred.

Backe told Sweden's TV4 that Messi intentionally disobeyed instructions from Guardiola in front of the entire Barcelona squad before a game in 2009, though, he refused to reveal his source.

"It was three hours before the game when all the players were sitting and eating, and Messi said he wanted a can of coke," he said.

"Guardiola replied that no player should drink cola three hours before a game.

"So Messi got up and left, returned a few minutes later with a can of cola and drank it right in front of Guardiola and the rest of the team.

"Imagine what would have happened when a player with the profile of Messi goes against the coach in this way?

"It was a war Guardiola could not win; it was impossible."

Walcott out of crucial England World Cup qualifiers

Theo Walcott will miss England's final two World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland with an abdominal injury.

Arsene Wenger has confirmed the Arsenal forward will undergo a minor procedure on Wednesday and be unavailable for "a few weeks".

Walcott missed the Gunners 3-1 win over Stoke City, and will now sit out a crucial Champions League clash with Napoli as well as domestic encounters with West Brom and Swansea City.

"Theo will be out for a few weeks," Wenger told the club's official website. "He has developed some damage to his posterior abdominal wall. It's not a hernia, but it's a little structural problem in his abdomen.

"He will have the procedure in Germany on Wednesday and, because it’s so minor, we can begin his rehab immediately.

"We are pleased it’s being dealt with quickly and he shouldn’t miss too many Arsenal matches. But he will miss the forthcoming international matches with England."

The 24-year-old has started the season in impressive fashion and netted his first goal of the campaign in Arsenal’s recent 2-1 Champions League victory over Marseille.

Khedira unhappy with madrid start

Sami Khedira has called on Real Madrid to improve on the slow start they made to Sunday's 4-1 win over Getafe.

Carlo Ancelotti's side fell behind to Lafita's fifth minute strike but struck back through goals from Pepe, Cristiano Ronaldo (2) and Isco.

But though Khedira applauded the quality of los Blancos' goals, the Germany midfielder admitted last season's Liga runners-up cannot afford to start so sluggishly.

He told the club's official website: "We played a great match and got a good result, even though the first 15 minutes were not good. After that we turned the score around and we are very happy. Cristiano Ronaldo and Isco scored two great goals."

The 25-year-old was linked with a summer exit following the departure of Jose Mourinho, with Khedira himself revealing that Manchester United had enquired about his services.

A move failed to materialise, however, with the former Stuttgart man happy at the Santiago Bernabeu and delighted with the competition for places at the club.

He added: "It is very important to for us to have a team in which anyone can play because we have many high-level and high-intensity matches. We have a quality squad and we are all happy."

Khedira was named Germany's ambassador for football for 2013 on Monday in light of his performances and conduct in representing German football over the past year.

Isco almost as good as Zidane

The talented 21-year-old was brought in from Malaga in the summer for a fee of €30 million and has already demonstrated his class with a stunning start to the campaign, with four goals in five Liga matches.

Zidane, Ancelotti's assistant at Madrid, was reowned for his technical ability and Ancelotti insists that Isco is developing into a player of the France legend's ilk.

"Comparing Isco to Zidane is not a bad thing. He is very close to Zidane with their ability," he told reporters.

"They have a lot of similarities. Zidane is obviously in a better position to judge and he said Isco isn't there yet, but said he could come close in the future."

Meanwhile, Ancelotti has also defended Karim Benzema against recent criticism and feels the Frenchman has been playing well of late.

The former Olympique Lyonnais striker was jeered by fans in their 4-1 win over Getafe at the weekend after missing a number of good chances, yet the Italian has insisted that he is happy with the 25-year-old's performances.

"Benzema has put in some good performances," he added.

"I like his hard work on the pitch, regardless of whether he scores.

"I don't think it's a big problem for him that the fans whistled him. Sometimes it can even be a good thing, because it can motivate the players."

Finally, Ancelotti confirmed that Gareth Bale should have recovered from his thigh injury to face Atletico Madrid this Saturday.

"He trained individually today. He should be fit for Saturday's match," the Italian said on Tuesday.

"Atletico Madrid are the team that have surprised me the most. They are playing well." 

Ribery best in Europe, says Messi

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Barcelona star Lionel Messi has conceded that Bayern Munich ace Franck Ribery deserved to win Uefa's Best Player in Europe award.

The Argentine and Cristiano Ronaldo were pipped to the award at a Uefa ceremony in Monaco in August and the 26-year-old says Ribery's treble success with Bayern Munich meant the right man walked away with the prize.

"It was an honour to be in this race again, among the best three players in Europe," he told Uefa.

"There are so many great players in the world and it is a real pleasure to be in the competition, but he [Ribery] deserved to win the trophy."

The Blaugrana were humbled 7-0 on aggregate by the German giants en route to the Champions League crown last season.

And while Messi admits that the defeat left a "bitter taste" in his mouth, he believes the team must not dwell on the past if they are to bounce back from last year's disappointment in Europe.

"We always want to achieve more. Winning the league was very important because of what it signified – winning it back after Real Madrid had won it last year," he added.

"There's also a bitter taste after what happened in the semi-final against Bayern München, where there was a big gap between the two teams – we didn't go into it in our best shape.

"But that's the past and we have to look forward."

The Catalans resume their Liga campaign following the international break by welcoming Sevilla to Camp Nou on Saturday.</p>