Berlin (AFP) – Hertha Berlin coach Pal Dardai will step down at the end of the season after a string of poor results in 2019, the club confirmed on Tuesday. After a positive start to the season, Hertha have won just two of 13 games this year, plummeting to 11th in the table. A 2-0 […]

London (AFP) – Belgian star Kevin de Bruyne has acknowledged that being rejected by a foster family as a teenager fuelled his footballing success. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder, who on Wednesday will be pivotal as Manchester City aim to stay on track for a quadruple this season in overhauling Tottenham's 1-0 first leg lead in […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City remain in contention for a historic haul of four trophies this season, but winning the one by which Pep Guardiola's time at the Etihad will be judged depends on overturning a 1-0 Champions League quarter-final, first leg deficit against Tottenham on Wednesday. City’s long-term pursuit of Guardiola has […]

Porto (Portugal) (AFP) – Moussa Marega's path to the top in football bears little resemblance to the career enjoyed by Thierry Henry, but the FC Porto striker does share something in common with the France legend. "We are from the same town. We were both born in Les Ulis" in the Paris suburbs, Marega told […]

London (AFP) – Jordan Henderson has emerged as the unexpected driving force in Liverpool's midfield after persuading Jurgen Klopp to grant him the freedom to roam. Henderson has spent most of his career as an unsung support act for more glamourous team-mates with Liverpool and England. But the 28-year-old has won Klopp's trust so completely […]

London (AFP) – Son Heung-min insists he has already proved he can shoulder the burden of replacing Harry Kane in Tottenham's Champions League showdown with Manchester City on Wednesday. Mauricio Pochettino's side head to the Etihad Stadium for the quarter-final second leg looking to protect a slender 1-0 lead. But Tottenham's task has been made […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal moved into the Premier League top four, but made hard work of seeing off 10-man Watford 1-0 thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's fortunate early opener on Monday. Aubameyang profited from an error by Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster as he blasted an attempted clearance in off the Gabon international. Watford captain Troy Deeney […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid took the Monday night slot reserved for La Liga's lower teams and never really looked out of place as Karim Benzema's goal was enough only for a 1-1 draw away to Leganes. Madrid delivered another thoroughly underwhelming performance at Butarque to remain 13 points adrift of Barcelona, with Zinedine Zidane's […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus can count on fit-again superstar Cristiano Ronaldo but captain Giorgio Chiellini and forward Mario Mandzukic will miss the crunch Champions League quarter-final, second leg clash against Ajax in Turin, coach Massimiliano Allegri confirmed on Monday. Ronaldo, 34, will spearhead the Italian champions' attack against the young Dutch outfit alongside Federico […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Pele was released from a Sao Paulo hospital on Monday, his Brazilian doctors said, two days after the football great had surgery to remove a kidney stone. The three-time World Cup winner was admitted to the Albert Einstein hospital last Tuesday, after returning from France where he had received treatment for […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has said Lionel Messi is in "perfect" condition to face Manchester United in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. It is four years since Barca last reached the semis of Europe's premier competition but a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford makes them firm favourites […]

Paris (AFP) – The football boots with which Paul Pogba effectively won the World Cup for France last year are to go under the hammer in Paris later this month, Christie's said Monday. The auction house estimate they could go for up to 50,000 euros ($56,500). The Manchester United midfielder, who scored France's third goal […]

Liverpool (AFP) – The English city of Liverpool fell silent on Monday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Hillsborough football stadium disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Reds supporters. Mourners lit a lantern for each of the fans who were crushed to death at the FA Cup semi-final held at the stadium in […]

Paris (AFP) – Egyptian Mohamed Salah, Senegalese Sadio Mane and Ivorian Nicolas Pepe shared the glory among the African stars in Europe at the weekend. Salah scored with an unstoppable shot from outside the box to complete a 2-0 win for Premier League leaders Liverpool over Chelsea after Mane had nodded the first goal. Pepe […]

Amsterdam (AFP) – David Neres may not represent part of Ajax's latest crop of gifted homegrown talent, but the Brazilian import is a chief component of a new golden generation emerging in Amsterdam. The 22-year-old forward struck a magnificent individual equaliser in the first leg against Juventus to give Ajax hope ahead of Tuesday's return […]