Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki insists his team can bounce back from last weekend's chastening defeat to Bayern Munich and keep up the pace in the Bundesliga title race. Dortmund slipped a point behind title rivals Bayern after thanks to a 5-0 thrashing in Munich last weekend, but a win over Mainz […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus head to SPAL on Saturday needing just a point to wrap up an eighth consecutive Serie A title in record time before their crucial Champions League decider against Ajax in Turin next week. Ronaldo returned from injury to score a precious away goal for Juventus in their 1-1 Champions […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Famed Egyptian club Al Ahly face one of the greatest challenges in their 112-year history when they try to wipe out a five-goal CAF Champions League deficit Saturday. South African side Mamelodi Sundowns exceeded their own expectations by thrashing the Cairo Red Devils 5-0 last weekend in the first leg of a […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez might be the deadliest attack in Europe but Barcelona's success in the Champions League could rest on their increasingly mean defence. After their 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday, Gerard Pique said Barca are tighter at the back than they have been all […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City and Liverpool resume their epic battle for the Premier League title on Sunday after a midweek of contrasting Champions League fortunes, with both sides facing perilous fixtures. City travel to Crystal Palace trailing Jurgen Klopp's men by two points, but still with the title in their hands thanks to a […]

Paris (AFP) – Arsenal and Chelsea closed in on the Europa League last four on Thursday after the Gunners saw off highly-fancied Napoli 2-0 at the Emirates, while Marco Alonso's late header earned Maurizio Sarri's side a hard-fought win at Slavia Prague. Unai Emery's Arsenal hold a healthy advantage going into next week's second leg […]

Prague (AFP) – Marcos Alonso's 86th-minute header gave Chelsea the edge over hard-working Slavia Prague with a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final in the Czech capital on Thursday. The Spanish left-back capitalised on a fine cross by Brazilian winger Willian, the tireless mastermind of Chelsea's attack on a chilly […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal took a significant step towards the Europa League semi-finals as Aaron Ramsey inspired a 2-0 win over Napoli in the quarter-final first leg on Thursday. Unai Emery's side seized control of the tie with a dominant first-half performance at the Emirates Stadium. Ramsey opened the scoring with a cool finish to […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Pele remains under "observation" in a Brazilian hospital, his doctors said Thursday, describing the three-time World Cup winner as "clinically stable". The latest update on the Brazilian football great's health comes a day after the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo said he would need an operation to remove a "ureteral […]

London (AFP) – Harry Kane's season could be over after Tottenham Hotspur revealed on Thursday that the England captain suffered "significant" damage to his left ankle during their Champions League win over Manchester City. "Following assessment over the past two days, we can confirm that Harry Kane has sustained a significant lateral ligament injury to […]

Paris (AFP) – UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday after a fan invaded the pitch during their Champions League quarter-final first leg win over Manchester City. In a statement, European football's governing body said Spurs had been charged for "field invasion by supporters". The fan ran onto the field late in Spurs' […]

Monaco (AFP) – Monaco midfielder Cesc Fabregas said on Wednesday his main aim is to take the Ligue 1 club club back to the Champions League, a trophy he is yet to win in his illustrious career. Fabregas joined the Principality outfit in January from Premier League outfit Chelsea but they will miss out on […]

Paris (AFP) – The draw for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations takes place in Cairo on Friday in a country that was only handed the task of organising the tournament in January. Egypt faces a race against time to be ready for the June 21 kick-off. Supposed to be in Cameroon... Egypt, seven-time winners […]

Cairo (AFP) – Egypt and Cameroon benefited from being hosts and title-holders respectively when the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations draw seedings were announced Thursday. The draw in Cairo Friday will be based on the April FIFA rankings which, ordinarily, would have placed Cameroon (ranked 54) and Egypt (57) among the second seeds. But it […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid have indicated they will appeal an eight-match suspension handed to Diego Costa by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Thursday. Costa was sent off in the first half of Atletico's 2-0 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday for directing a crude insult towards referee Gil Manzano. Manzano also reported that Costa had […]