Valencia (Spain) (AFP) – Barcelona striker Luis Suarez underwent surgery on a knee injury on Thursday and could be a doubt for their Copa del Rey final against Valencia later this month. Suarez played the full 90 minutes of Barca's shock 4-0 defeat to Liverpool on Tuesday, which ended their hopes of reaching the Champions […]

Valencia (Spain) (AFP) – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired Arsenal into the Europa League final by scoring the hat-trick that ended Valencia's hopes of another dramatic European comeback on Thursday. Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, Valencia made the perfect start at Mestalla when Kevin Gameiro finished at the back post but goals from Aubameyang and Alexandre […]

Paris (AFP) – Saint-Etienne are homing in on a first ever appearance in the modern Champions League as they prepare for the visit of Montpellier on Friday, aiming to snatch third place in Ligue 1 from arch-rivals Lyon. Saint-Etienne are France's most decorated side with 10 league titles and six French Cups but their last […]

Amsterdam (AFP) – After all that, why exactly would you want to change it? Just as moves are being stepped up that threaten to change the Champions League into more of a closed shop than ever, along comes the drama of this week at Anfield and in Amsterdam of a sort possibly unmatched in sport. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spanish public prosecutors said Thursday they have appealed the acquittal of former FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell of money laundering. Spain's National Court, which handles major criminal cases, last month cleared Rosell, his wife, and four others of laundering close to 20 million euros ($23 million) since 2006 relating to television rights […]

London (AFP) – Former England footballer David Beckham was on Thursday disqualified from driving for six months after using his phone while behind the wheel. The 44-year-old admitted the offence after being spotted by a member of the public as he drove his Bentley in London on November 21. The ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid […]

Milan (AFP) – Super agent Mino Raiola said Thursday he would be taking legal action to overturn a three-month ban imposed by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) from brokering deals in Italy. The outspoken agent — whose high-profile clients include Manchester United's Paul Pogba, Marseille's Mario Balotelli, and Juventus teenage striker Moise Kean — was […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac has said that former club Eintracht Frankfurt can pull off a "miracle" in their Europa League semi-final second leg against Chelsea on Thursday evening. Underdogs Frankfurt held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at home in last week's first leg, but face a fight against the odds at […]

Berlin (AFP) – England international Jadon Sancho is set to miss out on Borussia Dortmund's last home game of the season this weekend amid doubts over his fitness, coach Lucien Favre said on Thursday. Sancho trained individually on Thursday, and Favre confirmed that he and "one or two others" had been unable to train with […]

Berlin (AFP) – Champions League hopefuls Bayer Leverkusen have agreed to sign Germany international Kerem Demirbay from fellow Bundesliga club Hoffenheim, the club announced on Thursday. Midfielder Demirbay, 25, who won the Confederations Cup with Germany in 2017, will join Leverkusen on a five-year deal at the end of the season for a reported fee […]

Amsterdam (AFP) – Seemingly already down and out of the Champions League back in October, and at risk of missing out on next season's competition during a recent slump in results, now Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham Hotspur find themselves, improbably, through to the final. "No pain, no gain" was the phrase an emotional Pochettino used […]

Amsterdam (AFP) – Tottenham have a shot at becoming champions of Europe for the first time in their history after a hat-trick from Lucas Moura pulled off a dramatic victory against Ajax in the second remarkable turnaround in the competition in as many days. Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino sobbed in joy and called his players […]

London (AFP) – Lucas Moura came to Europe dreaming of winning the Champions League but few could imagine the Brazilian's chance to fulfil his ambition would arrive with Tottenham after he was discarded by Paris Saint-Germain. Spurs will go to Madrid on June 1 to face Liverpool thanks to Lucas's second half hat-trick that turned […]

London (AFP) – Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool are close to rediscovering the fear factor that made the club such a dominant force for nearly two decades as they target European glory. Between 1973 and 1990 the Reds claimed 11 league titles and a quartet of European Cups, all four won in an eight-season spell. […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham were saluted on Thursday after producing the second English Champions League "miracle" within 24 hours to set up a final against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. Lucas Moura's last-gasp strike took Spurs to the European showpiece for the first time in their history as he completed his hat-trick and sealed an […]