Berlin (AFP) – Freiburg face the acid test of their unbeaten record in the Bundesliga on Saturday at league leaders Bayern Munich, where they have never won in Germany's top flight. Third-placed Freiburg, from Germany's picturesque Black Forest, are the only Bundesliga club still boasting an undefeated run after eleven rounds. "We go into every […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Sociedad, Real Madrid, Sevilla or Atletico Madrid could all sit top of La Liga on Monday but none of them yet look much like champions. Barcelona are ninth and concerned more about finishing in the league's top four than first. Xavi Hernandez, the expected replacement for Ronald Koeman as coach, will […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United are relying on Cristiano Ronaldo to show Manchester City what they missed out on when they meet at Old Trafford on Saturday with both sides in need of the points. Ronaldo continued to dig United out of holes in the Champions League in midweek with a double in […]

Paris (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino has Paris Saint-Germain cruising in Ligue 1 and on course to qualify for the Champions League last 16, and yet the Argentine is still struggling to get the best out of an all-star team in the French capital. It has become a pattern with Pochettino's PSG, who have had to […]

Paris (AFP) – Antonio Conte was dished up the good and the bad in his first match in charge of Tottenham who beat Vitesse Arnhem 3-2 in the Europa Conference League on Thursday in a game which also featured three red cards. Conte took his place in the dug out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium […]

London (AFP) – West Ham qualified for the Europa League knockout stages despite Tomas Soucek's own goal costing them victory in a 2-2 draw at Genk on Thursday, but Leicester have work to do after being held 1-1 at home by Spartak Moscow. Celtic gave their chances of reaching the last 32 a boost by […]

Paris (AFP) – Antonio Conte was dished up the good and the bad in his first match in charge of Tottenham who beat Vitesse Arnhem 3-2 in the Europa Conference League on Thursday in a game which also three red cards. Conte took his place in the dug out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after […]

Paris (AFP) – Taylor Fritz departed the French Open in a wheelchair this year but his return to Paris is proving a far happier experience as he reached the Paris Masters quarter-finals after beating Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) on Thursday. The 24-year-old American's reward for ousting the 14th seeded Briton is a meeting with […]

London (AFP) – West Ham edged towards the Europa League knockout stage despite Tomas Soucek's own goal costing them victory in a 2-2 draw at Genk on Thursday as Rangers were also held 1-1 by Brondby. The Hammers are on the brink of guaranteeing top spot in Group H which will book their place in […]

London (AFP) – Newcastle are in talks with former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe over their vacant manager's job, according to reports on Thursday. Newcastle's new owners believed they would land Villarreal boss Unai Emery as Steve Bruce's replacement earlier this week. But the former Arsenal chief opted to reject their offer to take charge at […]

Abidjan (AFP) – Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Zaha is considering his international future after the Crystal Palace star asked to be left out of his country's forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. Zaha was missing from the squad to face Mozambique and Cameroon, with Ivory Coast boss Patrice Beaumelle revealing on Thursday the 28-year-old was unwilling to […]

London (AFP) – Jadon Sancho has been dropped for England's decisive World Cup qualifiers as Marcus Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to the squad on Thursday. Gareth Southgate's side host Albania on November 12 and travel to San Marino three days later as they look to guarantee their place at next year's World Cup in […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund officials said on Thursday they will appeal to European football's governing body UEFA against the red card handed to Mats Hummels in this week's Champions League defeat to Ajax. Hummels, 32, was sent off just 29 minutes into Dortmund's home defeat on Wednesday after a clumsy tackle on Ajax […]

London (AFP) – Aston Villa manager Dean Smith said on Thursday he is refusing to panic despite mounting speculation that he faces the sack if results fail to improve quickly. If Villa suffer a fifth successive Premier League defeat against Southampton on Friday, it could be the final straw for the under-fire Smith. Reports this […]

Paris (AFP) – N'Golo Kante and Kingsley Coman were recalled to the France squad by coach Didier Deschamps as the World Cup holders aim to secure their place at the 2022 finals in Qatar in qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Finland this month. Chelsea midfielder Kante, who has won 50 caps, did not feature when […]