Paris (AFP) – Marseille kept up their hunt for Champions League football on Saturday despite losing in-form striker Mario Balotelli to injury after VAR saw them escape last-gasp penalty drama to beat Nimes 2-1. Balotelli has helped kick-start Marseille's chase for European football with seven goals in 11 Ligue 1 appearances since arriving from Nice […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted his side were fortunate to grab a much-needed 2-1 win over West Ham on Saturday courtesy of two Paul Pogba penalties. Solskjaer's men had lost four of their previous five games in all competitions and could easily have suffered another damaging defeat to […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Paul Pogba ended an eight-game goal drought by scoring two penalties to give a below-par Manchester United a fortunate 2-1 victory over West Ham on Saturday. Pogba opened the scoring on 19 minutes after Robert Snodgrass was ruled to have fouled Juan Mata just inside the area, but United struggled […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona's 11-point advantage over Atletico Madrid became nine on Saturday as Lionel Messi was left out of their goalless draw with Huesca and Gerard Pique watched on television with a bowl of prawns. With Barca's focus clearly on Manchester United, Messi and Pique were among 10 players rested for the stalemate at […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United needed two Paul Pogba penalties to stay in contention for a top-four Premier League finish by beating West Ham 2-1, while Tottenham moved up to third thanks to Lucas Moura's hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Huddersfield on Saturday. United had lost four of their previous five games in all […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat at lowly SPAL on Saturday to put their Serie A title celebrations on hold, as Edin Dzeko fired Roma into the Champions League places with the only goal in a 1-0 win over Udinese. Massimiliano Allegri's side had needed just a point to claim their […]

Berlin (AFP) – Jadon Sancho's first-half brace and Roman Buerki's goalkeeping heroics helped pile the pressure back onto Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga title race as Borussia Dortmund survived a late scare to secure a 2-1 win over Mainz on Saturday. Dortmund were left licking their wounds after a 5-0 humiliation in Munich last weekend […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi was left out and Gerard Pique watched on television with a bowl of prawns as Barcelona saved themselves for Manchester United by resting 10 players against Huesca on Saturday. Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was the only one to keep his place for the goalless draw at El Alcoraz as coach […]

Milan (AFP) – Veteran Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, announced Saturday that he will retire from football at the end of the season. "When you're a footballer you find it hard to think about life after football, but this season's injuries helped me to understand. I've decided to […]

Marseille (AFP) – Marseille's French forward Valere Germain (C) celebrates after scoring a goal with Marseille's Guinean midfielder Bouna Sarr (L) and Marseille's French forward Florian Thauvin during the French L1 football match between Marseille (OM) and Nimes at the velodrome stadium in Marseille on April 13, 2019

London (AFP) – Ipswich Town will play in the third tier of the English league for the first time in over 60 years after a 1-1 draw with Birmingham confirmed their relegation from the Championship on Saturday. Paul Lambert's side — bottom of the table since mid-October — can only garner 12 points from the […]

Milan (AFP) – Teenager Moise Kean scored his sixth goal in as many league games but champions Juventus slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat at lowly SPAL on Saturday to put their Serie A title celebrations on hold. Massimiliano Allegri's side had needed just a point to claim a 35th Scudetto with a record six […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona held back for Manchester United by resting every outfield player possible on Saturday, including Lionel Messi, as La Liga's runaway leaders were held to a goalless draw by Huesca. Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was the only one to keep his place at El Alcoraz as coach Ernesto Valverde made clear his […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham shrugged off the loss of Harry Kane as Lucas Moura's hat-trick moved Spurs up to third in the Premier League with a 4-0 win over Huddersfield, while Cardiff slipped closer to relegation after going down 2-0 at Burnley on Saturday. Kane is expected to miss the rest of the season due […]

Paris (AFP) – FIFA head Gianni Infantino on Saturday appealed for football to take a "zero tolerance" approach to racism after the Ligue 1 match between Dijon and Amiens was interrupted following monkey chants directed at Prince Gouano. "FIFA urges all member associations leagues, clubs and disciplinary bodies to adopt the same procedure, as well […]