Madrid (AFP) – Alvaro Morata's debut ended in disappointment as Atletico Madrid missed a golden chance to cut the gap behind Barcelona by losing 1-0 to Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday. Morata made his first start for Atletico at Benito Villamarin but it was an unspectacular opener for the on-loan Chelsea striker, and […]

Berlin (AFP) – Augsburg's Icelandic striker Alfred Finnbogason scored a treble and had a fourth ruled out for offside as he led his team to a crucial 3-0 win over Mainz 05 on Sunday. Finnbogason put his side ahead in the eighth minute, converting a penalty after Mainz defender Daniel Brosinski's handball. He doubled the […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains unbeaten 10 games into his caretaker reign of Manchester United as the rejuvenated Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba combined to earn a 1-0 win at Leicester on Sunday to close in on the Premier League top four. Rashford blasted home his sixth goal since Solskjaer took […]

Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump said Sunday he would prefer his son to play soccer rather than American football, describing gridiron as "dangerous." In an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation", which aired as millions of Americans prepare to watch the Super Bowl, Trump said he was concerned about safety aspects of the sport. […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Timothy Weah came off the bench to inspire Celtic to a six-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership as the champions struck twice in the final 12 minutes to beat St Johnstone 2-0 despite ending the game with nine men. The Paris Saint-Germain loanee set up James Forrest to open […]

London (AFP) – Eden Hazard believes Gonzalo Higuain's first two goals for Chelsea in Saturday's 5-0 rout of Huddersfield are just the beginning for the Argentine ace, with whom he foresees a potentially lethal partnership in the Premier League run in. The Belgian also scored a double against the Terriers as Maurizio Sarri's men bounced […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich are unsure whether Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer can play in next week's crunch German Cup tie at Hertha Berlin after losing more ground in the Bundesliga title race on Saturday. The defending German champions were humbled 3-1 at Bayer Leverkusen to leave them seven points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund in […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Molde's owners hope he does not come back to Norway, because they want him to be successful in becoming Manchester United's permanent manager. Solskjaer is on loan to United for the remainder of the Premier League season, having been appointed caretaker on December 19, as replacement […]

Paris (AFP) – Cesc Fabregas scored his first goal since joining Monaco from Chelsea on Saturday and it proved a crucial one as it earned his troubled new employers a precious 2-1 win over Toulouse. The Spain international was signed by Thierry Henry in mid-January only for his former Arsenal teammate to be axed as […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola is convinced that Manchester City have enough leaders to chase down a significant points deficit in the league, something he has never previously achieved as a manager. Guardiola's side go into Sunday's Premier League home match against Arsenal in third place, five points behind leaders Liverpool with 14 […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice but champions Juventus had to settle for a point as a late Gervinho double snatched a 3-3 draw for promoted Parma in Serie A on Saturday. Juventus' dropped points allowed Napoli to cut the gap on the leaders to nine points after a confident 3-0 win over Sampdoria. […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde remains hopeful Lionel Messi will be fit to face Real Madrid on Wednesday, despite the striker feeling a "small problem" during Saturday's 2-2 draw with Valencia. Barca face Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals and Valverde said Messi had felt some discomfort against […]

Milan (AFP) – Napoli captain Marek Hamsik is pushing for a move to China and the Italian club are ready to give him the opportunity, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday. Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang are reported to be close to ending the Slovak international's 11-year stay in Naples. Ancelotti confirmed that Hamsik […]

London (AFP) – Norwich replaced Leeds at the top of the English Championship with a thrilling 3-1 win at Elland Road on Saturday. Mario Vrancic's deflected free-kick gave the visitors a fifth-minute lead after a Pontus Jansson mistake. Leeds then penned penned City in their own half but Norwich broke in the 35th minute and […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Cardiff manager Neil Warnock said Emiliano Sala would have been "really proud" of the team after they beat Bournemouth 2-0 on Saturday in their first home match since the plane carrying their new Argentine signing disappeared. Programme notes, penned by owner Vincent Tan and the rest of the Bluebirds' board, said […]