Barcelona (AFP) – Lionel Messi finished with a bloody nose and swollen cheek but Barcelona left unscathed, with one foot in the semi-finals and Manchester United hoping for another Champions League miracle. Chris Smalling's clattering challenge in the first half could mean Messi is spared Barca's visit to Huesca on Saturday, their 11-point lead in […]

Berlin (AFP) – Veteran Dutch winger Arjen Robben fears that he has played his last game for Bayern Munich as he struggles to return from injury before he leaves the club this summer. Robben, 35, will end a glittering 10-year spell at Bayern when his contract ends this summer, and had hoped to return to […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Romelu Lukaku called on Manchester United to play with "arrogance and confidence" against Barcelona as they seek to overturn a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side face an uphill battle at the Camp Nou next week after Luke Shaw's own goal […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa will miss the rest of the season after being handed an eight-match suspension 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 […]

Amsterdam (AFP) – There are still 90 minutes to come in Turin against the experience of Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus, but Ajax head to Italy with hope intact after Wednesday's 1-1 draw in their Champions League quarter-final first leg. "Ajax still standing" said the daily De Volkskrant, who described the youthful Amsterdam side as "courageous […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo debuted his new golden hairdo with a diving header to earn Juventus a precious away goal against Ajax in a 1-1 draw in the Champions League quarter-final first leg but the Italian press warned on Thursday the young Dutch team remain dangerous after eliminating three-time holders Real Madrid. "CR7, Golden […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Paul Pogba says Manchester United can hurt Barcelona at the Camp Nou as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side plot another unlikely Champions League comeback following their 1-0 home defeat. Luke Shaw's own goal from a Luis Suarez header was the difference in Wednesday's first leg of the quarter-final at Old Trafford, […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United's powers of recovery carried them to a first Champions League quarter-final in five years but even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits beating Barcelona in the Camp Nou is maybe one mountain too many to climb. Unlike their experience in losing the first leg of their last-16 tie on home […]

Berlin (AFP) – The father of Eintracht Frankfurt star striker Luka Jovic has told German newspaper Bild that his son will snub Barcelona and stay at the Bundesliga club next season. Serbian striker Jovic, 21, has been linked with several of Europe's top clubs after a breakthrough season in which he has scored 24 goals […]

Zuzenhausen (Germany) (AFP) – English teenager Reiss Nelson remembers driving up the leafy road towards the training ground of Bundesliga club Hoffenheim for the first time and thinking: "Where am I going?" The 19-year-old English winger has made quite an impact since arriving at the club on a year-long loan from Arsenal, becoming the latest […]

Amsterdam (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo was again hailed by Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri after scoring with his side's only shot on target to earn a 1-1 draw away to an excellent Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in Amsterdam on Wednesday. On his return from a thigh injury, Ronaldo subdued the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United face an even tougher task to turnaround the 1-0 deficit from the first leg of their quarter-final with Barcelona than their miraculous comeback away to Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted on Wednesday. United became the first side to ever overcome a 2-0 first […]

Amsterdam (AFP) – Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri hailed star striker Cristiano Ronaldo as being in a class of his own after he bagged a precious away goal in their 1-1 Champions League quarter-final draw at Ajax on Wednesday. Ronaldo put Juventus in front on the stroke of half-time with a diving header to take his […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United defender Chris Smalling believes Barcelona were nullified at Old Trafford despite emerging 1-0 victors from their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Wednesday. Luke Shaw's 12th-minute own goal means United have another Champions League mountain to climb on the road, after overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit to eliminate […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United have another monumental task on their hands in the Champions League after Luke Shaw's own goal gave Barcelona a 1-0 quarter-final, first leg lead at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Shaw turned Luis Suarez's header into his own net after just 12 minutes and despite being far from their […]