London (AFP) – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as Arsenal returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory against Burnley on Saturday as Mesut Ozil was restored to the starting line-up as captain. Former Germany international Ozil has been on the fringes of Unai Emery's team in recent weeks but was quickly into the thick of […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur have had to cope with the unwanted attention manager Mauricio Pochettino has received this week in the wake of Jose Mourinho's sacking with the Argentine now favourite to be Manchester United's next permanent manager. Pochettino has enough to contend with in his current job over the next 10 days with […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Argentina's problems with football hooliganism were thrown into the spotlight by the postponement of the historic Copa Libertadores final between Buenos Aires arch rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors. The match had to be postponed twice after River fans attacked the Boca team bus, and the South American football federation ultimately chose […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge will remain at the helm of German champions Bayern Munich alongside Uli Hoeness until at least 2021 after the former striker was given a two-year extension as chairman on Friday. "Our most important task in the years to come will be to continue to develop Bayern so that it […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he will be no pushover as he attempts to save Manchester United's season, vowing to get the best out of Paul Pogba, who fell out spectacularly with Jose Mourinho. Former Old Trafford favourite Solskjaer — known in his playing days as the "Baby-faced Assassin", has been appointed […]

Wolverhampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Liverpool passed another stringent test of their Premier League title credentials as Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk gave them a 2-0 victory at Wolverhampton on Friday that guarantees top spot at Christmas. Salah's 11th goal of the season was a classy one and helped subdue a dangerous Wolves side […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund will begin the new year in pole position to win their first Bundesliga title since 2012 after beating second-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 on Friday. An outstanding goal from English teenager Jadon Sancho and a sliding finish from Marco Reus ensured Dortmund end the first half of the German season […]

Abu Dhabi (AFP) – Al Ain go into Saturday's final of the Club World Cup knowing that they need to move trough the gears if they are to have any hope of stopping giants Real Madrid bagging a record third straight world crown. The Abu Dhabi club are the dominant force at home and the only […]

London (AFP) – Aston Villa have agreed to sign Croatian international goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic, the Championship club announced on Friday. The 28-year-old will officially link up with Villa from Belgian side Gent when the transfer window opens on January 1 and will sign a deal until 2023. "We are delighted to be signing someone of […]

London (AFP) – British police have interviewed a person under caution following the alleged racist abuse of Raheem Sterling during Manchester City's defeat by Chelsea earlier this month. The incident involving the 24-year-old occurred at Stamford Bridge on December 8 during City's 2-0 defeat. "Police continue to investigate an incident where is it is claimed […]

London (AFP) – Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has accused the current crop of players at Old Trafford of getting away "with murder" and of throwing Jose Mourinho "under the bus". The Irishman's broadside comes just days after Mourinho was sacked as United manager, having presided over their worst-ever start to a Premier League […]

London (AFP) – Mesut Ozil will return to the Arsenal squad for Saturday's Premier League visit of Burnley, with manager Unai Emery saying he believes the midfielder has a future at the Emirates Stadium. Ozil did not make the substitutes' bench for the League Cup quarter-final defeat to rivals Tottenham in midweek and has been […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola on Friday dismissed Jurgen Klopp's suggestion that Manchester City are a team with no sign of weakness as the two battle for the Premier League title. Guardiola's City and Klopp's Liverpool appear increasingly to be the two main contenders in the title race, as the season approaches its […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is contemplating deploying Eden Hazard as a "false nine" for a third straight Premier League game to set him "free". The Blues, fourth in the Premier League, play Leicester on Saturday, after beating champions Manchester City and then Brighton without fielding a recognised striker in the starting line-up. […]

Zurich (AFP) – A combined global audience of 1.12 billion watched the World Cup final between France and Croatia in July, FIFA, the governing body of world football, said on Friday. In total, FIFA said, a "combined 3.572 billion viewers – more than half of the global population aged four and over – tuned in […]