Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revelled in his side's growing maturity on the European stage after dumping Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on Wednesday. A Sadio Mane double and Virgil van Dijk's towering header secured a 3-1 win on the night in Munich and on aggregate to secure Liverpool's place […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Sadio Mane scored twice as Liverpool ensured there will be four English sides in Friday's Champions League quarter-final draw with a hugely impressive 3-1 win away to Bayern Munich to progress by the same score on aggregate. The Senegalese's stunning opener was quickly cancelled out by Joel Matip's own goal. But […]

Miami (AFP) – FIFA Council members will on Friday vote for the creation of an expanded 24-team Club World Cup, with a "pilot" edition of the new tournament to be held in 2021, according to a document seen by AFP. A 17-page report distributed to the 37 members of FIFA's ruling body calls for the […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Lionel Messi came up just short of matching Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick a day earlier but still scored twice and set up two more as Barcelona beat Lyon 5-1 on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. After Ronaldo's treble on Tuesday for Juventus sent Atletico Madrid packing in Turin, Messi delivered his […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Sadio Mane scored twice to steer Liverpool into the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday after a 3-1 win at Bayern Munich dumped out the German champions. Having missed the goalless first leg at Anfield three weeks ago through suspension, Virgil van Dijk's long pass led to Mane's superb first-half goal at […]

Nice (France) (AFP) – Mario Balotelli made headlines once again with a quirky goal celebration after firing the winner in Marseille's 1-0 victory over the fiery Italian's former club Nice, but there was one person who wasn't amused. A week after his Instagram selfie video celebration against Saint-Etienne, Balotelli played 'rock, paper, scissors' with Florian […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – James Milner started in place of injured Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita at Bayern Munich in Wednesday's Champions League last 16, return leg with defender Virgil van Dijk back in defence. Having missed the goalless draw in the first leg through suspension, Van Dijk returned to partner Joel Matip at centre-back for […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva's stunning form this season was rewarded with a new six-year deal on Wednesday. The Portuguese playmaker has arguably been the English champions' player of the year so far, scoring nine goals in 40 appearances. "It’s an honour to extend my deal with Manchester City," Silva said in […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate joined the condemnation of a worrying trend of violent incidents inside British football grounds, but believes deeper-rooted societal problems are the cause. A Birmingham fan who punched Aston Villa's Jack Grealish after invading the pitch on Sunday has been jailed for 14 weeks, while an Arsenal fan also […]

Paris (AFP) – On-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius has taken his complaint about unpaid wages by Besiktas to FIFA, world football's governing body told AFP on Wednesday. A report on goal.com said that the German was taking legal action against the Turkish giants over four months of wages he claims are outstanding. The 25-year-old joined […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani has been ruled out of next week's China Cup after failing to recover in time from a thigh injury, the Uruguayan Football Association announced on Wednesday. Oscar Tabarez's 23-man squad travel to Nanning to take on take on China, Uzbekistan and Thailand in the tournament, which runs between March […]

Milan (AFP) – Aurelio Andreazzoli has returned as coach of Serie A strugglers Empoli in place of sacked Giuseppe Iachini after just four months after being removed himself, the Italian team confirmed on Wednesday. Andreazzoli was replaced by Iachini in early November despite leading the Tuscan team to promotion last season. The 65-year-old beat Cagliari […]

London (AFP) – Huddersfield Town have condemned the racist abuse of midfielder Philip Billing, with the Premier League strugglers saying they have reported the incident to the police. Billing, 22, received online racial abuse late on Tuesday from someone claiming to be one of the Yorkshire club's fans. "We're aware of the racist message sent […]

Nyon (Switzerland) (AFP) – Neymar could be hit with a Champions League ban after UEFA opened an investigation on Wednesday into his foul-mouthed social media outburst about the refereeing during Paris Saint-Germain's controversial exit to Manchester United last week. Injured Brazil forward Neymar told match officials to "Go fuck yourselves" on Instagram after watching on […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid have suffered yet more Champions League heartache but this time the soul-searching could be deeper and longer-lasting. Out of the Copa del Rey and adrift in La Liga, Atletico had pinned their hopes on Europe, where there was the added lure of a final at their own Wanda Metropolitano stadium […]