Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City stars not to use the dubious state of Newport County's pitch as an excuse when they face the fourth tier giant-killers in the FA Cup on Saturday. Guardiola is aware that Newport's Rodney Parade ground has one of the more badly damaged surfaces […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United will be without Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard for Monday's FA Cup clash at Chelsea with both sidelined for up to three weeks after picking up injuries during Tuesday’s Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain. The in-form duo will also miss Liverpool's visit to Old Trafford in the […]

Berlin (AFP) – A mysterious thigh strain is overshadowing Arjen Robben's final few months at Bayern Munich, leaving the injury-prone winger frustrated on the sidelines. The 35-year-old, who scored the winning goal for Bayern in the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley, has said this will be his tenth and final season at the defending […]

Milan (AFP) – Napoli captain Marek Hamsik brought the curtain down on his 12-year career at the club and on Friday the team paid tribute to the Slovak star as he prepares to move to Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang. "We wish Hamsik all the best in the future," said coach Carlo Ancelotti after […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has backed calls from Scottish players' union to ban plastic pitches from the Scottish Premiership and is even open to his club and rivals Celtic funding the change. A quarter of Premiership games will take place on plastic surfaces this season with Kilmarnock, Hamilton and Livingston all using […]

Progreso (Argentine) (AFP) – The coffin of footballer Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash between Nantes and Cardiff, arrived in Argentina on Friday ahead of his funeral in his hometown of Progreso. The British Airways flight carrying the body landed shortly after 9:00am (1200 GMT) at Buenos Aires airport. A van waited to […]

Berlin (AFP) – A group of Borussia Dortmund stars have been slammed in the media and criticised by club bosses after inviting a celebrity barber to the team hotel on the eve of their Champions League mauling by Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. Bundesliga leaders Dortmund face a mountain to climb in the return on March […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea defender David Luiz insists there has been no dressing room revolt against manager Maurizio Sarri's tactics despite a 6-0 mauling at Manchester City last weekend. Sarri has been criticised for refusing to adapt his style, even on the road against the best opponents. The Blues bounced back by beating Malmo 2-1 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spanish champions Barcelona announced Friday they have extended the contract of coach Ernesto Valverde for another season with the option of one more. Valverde, who took over at the Camp Nou in 2017 after joining from Athletic Bilbao, won the league and cup double last season. "FC Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde, the […]

Bordeaux (AFP) – Stand-out Fijian centre Semi Radradra is part of a potentially thrilling midfield combination with ex-All Black Seta Tamanivalu on which Bordeaux-Begles are banking to guide them into a Top 14 play-off spot. While Radradra, the former Parramatta Eels and once-capped Australian rugby league star, has settled in at Bordeaux following his move from […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona will hope to reassert their authority in the title race on Saturday after a stuttering spell has given Real Madrid fresh hope in La Liga. Here, AFP Sport looks at five talking points ahead of round 24. Coutinho form a concern When Ousmane Dembele injured his ankle in January, the door […]

Santiago (AFP) – Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay are to submit a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, Chile's President Sebastian Pinera announced on Thursday. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay had already submitted a joint bid to host the centenary edition of football's most prestigious tournament, but Pinera said on Twitter that those countries' […]

Paris (AFP) – Chelsea claimed a 2-1 victory at Malmo in the Europa League last-32 first leg on Thursday to ease some of the pressure on beleaguered coach Maurizio Sarri, while Arsenal suffered a shock loss to BATE Borisov. Away side Chelsea desperately needed a response after back-to-back humiliating away losses, with last Sunday's 6-0 […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Valencia closed in on the last 16 of the Europa League by inflicting just Celtic's second home defeat of the season with a 2-0 win in Glasgow on Thursday. Twice the Celtic offside trap was broken with ease either side of half-time as Ruben Sobrino's pass was tapped home by Denis Cheryshev […]

Paris (AFP) – Arsenal face an uphill battle to progress in the Europa League after a 1-0 defeat by BATE Borisov in the last-32 first leg which saw Alexandre Lacazette sent off on Thursday. Stanislav Dragun put BATE ahead just before the break in Barysaw and Arsenal never threatened an equaliser, with Lacazette's late dismissal […]