London (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel has refused to set a timescale on the return from injury of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner as he juggles Chelsea's attacking resources for Saturday's Premier League home game against Norwich. The Chelsea boss confirmed club-record signing Lukaku and fellow forward Werner would definitely miss the game at Stamford Bridge […]

Versailles (France) (AFP) – Lawyers for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema on Friday dismissed charges against him over an attempt to blackmail fellow player Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape, saying the prosecution had been driven by media interest in the case. A verdict in the trial will be announced on November 24. On the […]

Versailles (France) (AFP) – Lawyers for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema on Friday dismissed charges against him over an attempt to blackmail fellow player Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape, saying the prosecution had been driven by media interest in the case. A verdict in the trial will be announced on November 24. On the […]

Madrid (AFP) – “He can’t be expected to fill the gap Messi left behind, it’s impossible,” said Ronald Koeman, answering the question nobody had asked but everyone was thinking. Ansu Fati scores goals, wears number 10 and is by far the most exciting thing happening at Barcelona, a club mourning the loss of their best […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund's star striker Erling Haaland will be sidelined for "several weeks" with a hip flexor injury, coach Marco Rose said Friday. The 21-year-old Norwegian played the entire match as Dortmund went down 4-0 to Ajax in the Champions league on Wednesday. "Time to focus on my injury. I will be back […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona's players met for dinner in a Catalan restaurant late on Wednesday night to celebrate Ansu Fati's new contract and to bond ahead of Sunday's Clasico against Real Madrid. The 18-year-old Fati committing himself for another six years carried special significance for Barcelona. Despite all the problems they face, one of the […]

Paris (AFP) – Lionel Messi gets his first taste of French football's biggest rivalry this weekend as Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain travel to face Marseille on Sunday. A few hours after Messi's old side Barcelona take on Real Madrid in the Clasico, the Argentinian will take to the field at the Velodrome in the […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus' new found solidity will be put to the test on Sunday when they face Serie A champions Inter Milan at the San Siro in the 'Derby of Italy', traditionally the biggest domestic fixture of the season. Inter dethroned fierce rivals Juve last season, prompting the 'Old Lady' of Italian football to […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich hope for full stands at the Allianz Arena for the first time in more than 18 months when the Bundesliga leaders host Hoffenheim on Saturday with head coach Julian Nagelsmann again sidelined by Covid-19. The relaxing of regulations in Bavaria means that for the first time since the pandemic hit […]

Paris (AFP) – West Ham took control of Group H in the Europa League thanks to Thursday's 3-0 home win over Genk. Craig Dawson scored late in the first half before Issa Diop and Jarrod Bowen helped the Hammers to go six points clear. Elsewhere in the group Rapid Vienna beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 to […]

Paris (AFP) – Jose Mourinho's Roma were humiliated 6-1 in the Europa Conference League on Thursday at Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian champions whose fans are famed for carrying giant yellow toothbrushes to games. Bodo/Glimt, playing their 11th European game of the season, stunned the Italian giants who struggled in temperatures of two degrees on an artificial […]

Asuncion (AFP) – Paraguay have hired Argentine twins Guillermo and Gustavo Barros Schelotto as their new coaching team following the sacking of Eduardo Berizzo, the South American country's federation said on Thursday. Berizzo was sacked a week ago following Paraguay's 4-0 thrashing away to Bolivia that left the country eighth in the single South American […]

Doha (AFP) – Work on Qatar's Lusail Stadium, which will host the 2022 World Cup final, is nearly complete, an official said on Thursday, with only systems checks and commissions left to tackle. "We are at approximately 98.5 percent completion," Tamim El Abed, project manager for the stadium, told AFP in an interview. "The structural […]

Versailles (France) (AFP) – French prosecutors on Thursday said they were seeking a 10-month suspended sentence for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema for alleged complicity in an attempt to blackmail former France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape. Benzema is one of five people on trial over the 2015 extortion attempt, which led to […]

London (AFP) – Paul Pogba admits Manchester United are still a work in progress after they came back from the brink to beat Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were in danger of a damaging defeat when they fell two goals down at Old Trafford. United were booed off at […]