Paris (AFP) – Ramy Bensebaini's late winner sent Rennes through to the French Cup final on Tuesday and a possible showdown with holders Paris Saint-Germain after a thrilling 3-2 victory at Lyon. Rennes twice led at the Groupama Stadium through goals from Mbaye Niang and Benjamin Andre, but Lyon hit back with a Bertrand Traore […]

Wolverhampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ashley Young's needless dismissal and Chris Smalling's farcical own goal sent Manchester United crashing to a damaging 2-1 defeat against Wolves on Tuesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side blew a chance to move into third place in the Premier League as they squandered the lead in a disappointing display at Molineux. […]

London (AFP) – Fulham were relegated from the Premier League as a 4-1 thrashing against Watford on Tuesday brought a fitting end to their turbulent one-season stay in the top flight. Scott Parker's side had to avoid defeat at Vicarage Road to stave off their inevitable demise for a few more days. But second-bottom Fulham, […]

Paris (AFP) – Football legend Pele told Kylian Mbappe on Tuesday that he believes the French World Cup winner can emulate his own achievement of scoring 1,000 career goals. The 78-year-old Brazilian claims to have netted over 1,000 goals in his career, while Mbappe has so far managed 103 in total. "It's possible, I scored […]

Milan (AFP) – Kevin Lasagna grabbed a point for Udinese to further dent AC Milan's Champions League ambitions after a 1-1 draw at the San Siro on Tuesday. Injury-hit Milan struggled against their 15th-placed opponents with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma going off after 11 minutes with a thigh problem and Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta hurting his […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid needed late goals from Diego Godin and Antoine Griezmann to beat Girona 2-0 on Tuesday and boost morale ahead of Saturday's top of the table clash against Barcelona. Barca kicked off against Villarreal shortly after the final whistle blew at the Wanda Metropolitano and a win for the Catalans would […]

Berlin (AFP) – Hamburg striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga continued his fine scoring form in the German Cup on Tuesday as he grabbed both goals in a 2-0 win at Paderborn to fire his team into the semi-finals for the first time in ten years. Lasogga has now scored six goals in the competition this season, equalling […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar will returning to training on Wednesday for "on-pitch tests" after two-and-a-half months out with a foot injury, the club said on Tuesday. The world's most expensive player has been sidelined since hobbling off during a French Cup win over Strasbourg on January 23, missing PSG's Champions League last-16 […]

London (AFP) – Former England winger Adam Johnson said on Tuesday that he "deeply regrets" his actions after serving three years in prison for child sex offences. Johnson was released from prison on March 22 after serving half of his six-year sentence for engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old. The former Manchester City and […]

London (AFP) – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin admitted on Tuesday that he is ashamed of the recent outbreaks of racism that have blighted football this season. England stars Raheem Sterling, Danny Rose and Callum Hudson-Odoi endured racist abuse from Montenegro fans during last month's Euro 2020 qualifier, while in the club game Inter Milan, Dinamo […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino said on Tuesday that Hugo Lloris will remain in goal for Tottenham despite a series of costly errors this season. Lloris has endured fresh criticism after his fumble led to Toby Alderweireld's decisive own goal in the final minutes of Tottenham's 2-1 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday. It is not […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City will be without injured leading scorer Sergio Aguero as they try to regain the advantage in the Premier League title race against struggling Cardiff on Wednesday. A thigh injury means the Premier League's leading marksman — he has 19 goals to his name — will sit it out […]

London (AFP) – Under-fire Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri says he is ready to give England international Callum Hudson-Odoi a first start in the Premier League, either against Brighton on Wednesday or West Ham next Monday. The 60-year-old Italian has angered Chelsea fans with his refusal to start the 18-year-old winger and they vented their feelings […]

London (AFP) – Four-time African footballer of the year Yaya Toure says football authorities should be more proactive when it comes to racism. The 35-year-old former Ivory Coast great — who also starred for Barcelona and Manchester City — said football's governing bodies only reacted once incidents had already occurred, as in the case of […]

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan forward Mauro Icardi will return to action on Wednesday after nearly two months out amid off-pitch drama over contract talks as the Serie A club battle for Champions League football next season, coach Luciano Spalletti confirmed on Tuesday. The Argentina striker was stripped of the captain's armband on February 13 […]