Istanbul (AFP) – Turkish side Fenerbahce have turned to former coach Ersun Yanal to fill the hole left by the sacking six weeks ago of Dutch coach Phillip Cocu, the club announced on Friday. Yanal, who led Fenerbahce to the league title in 2014, has signed a contract for a year and half. "Welcome […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne are both on the verge of a return to action for Manchester City as a busy December programme gathers pace, manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday. Aguero, City's leading scorer, has missed their past four matches with a groin problem but has been able […]

Berlin (AFP) – Veteran winger Arjen Robben will miss Bayern Munich's last three games of 2018 with a leg injury, the defending Bundesliga champions confirmed Friday. Robben, who turns 35 in January and has announced this will be his final season with Bayern, has missed five of the last seven matches with the Bavarian giants, […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho says success is best measured in trophies as he prepares to take his injury-hit Manchester United squad to high-flying Liverpool on Sunday. Liverpool are top of the Premier League before the weekend round of matches but have yet to win a trophy under the management of Jurgen Klopp, […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho faces a quandary as he prepares Manchester United for a trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool while Manchester City will be keen to show that last week's Chelsea defeat was just a blip. United have an impressive recent record against Liverpool, unbeaten in eight league games, but away fans will […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea have promised to take the "strongest possible action" against any supporters found to have sung an anti-Semitic chant in Budapest, just days after four fans were suspended for abusing Raheem Sterling. Minutes into Thursday's Europa League clash with Vidi in Budapest's Groupama Arena, which ended 2-2, a vocal minority of Chelsea […]

Milan (AFP) – Champions Juventus tackle city rivals Torino with pride at stake as Italy's top teams return to the home comforts of Serie A this weekend licking their wounds after a bruising week in Europe. Juventus travel cross-town to the Stadio Olimpico looking to maintain their eight-point advantage at the top of Serie A […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona will head to Levante on Sunday night top of La Liga and with a score to settle. Seven months ago, they were two games away from becoming the first team to finish a Spanish top-flight season unbeaten since Real Madrid in 1932, and even then there were only 18 games in […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund can take a significant first step towards breaking Bayern Munich's stranglehold on the Bundesliga title by beating Werder Bremen on Saturday to become 'Herbstmeister', or autumn champions. Dortmund are seven points clear in the table and a home win over Bremen at Signal Iduna Park will confirm them as the […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho faces a quandary as he prepares Manchester United for a trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool while Manchester City will be keen to show that last week's Chelsea defeat was just a blip. United have an impressive recent record against Liverpool, unbeaten in eight league games, but away fans will […]

Paris (AFP) – Olympiakos dumped AC Milan out of the Europa League on Thursday after beating the seven-time European champions 3-1 in a pulsating clash in Greece, while Eintracht Frankfurt fans ran riot during the German side's win at Lazio and Celtic made the knockout stages despite losing to Salzburg at Celtic Park. Captain Kostas […]

Rome (AFP) – Italian police on Thursday arrested five Eintracht Frankfurt fans after clashes near the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where their team beat Lazio in the Europa League. Nearly 9,000 German fans were in the Italian capital for the match between the teams, who had already qualified from Group H, with Eintracht in first […]

Miami (AFP) – Bordeaux's new American owners have branded Ligue 1 rivals Paris Saint-Germain the "bullies" of French football and are ready to "go to war" in a bid to wrestle the championship from their grasp. Last month, the six-time champions — who last won the title in 2009 — were purchased by GACP Sports, […]

Paris (AFP) – Rangers crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday after falling 1-0 at Rapid Vienna, while crowd trouble sparked by Eintracht Frankfurt fans marred the German side's win at Lazio. Steven Gerrard's Rangers, who had to win in Vienna in their final group game in order to qualify for the last 32, […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – South Africa has formally bid to replace Cameroon as hosts of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, a senior football official told AFP Thursday. "We have submitted our bid documents," South African Football Association spokesman Dominic Chimhavi said in reply to emailed questions from AFP. "(It) is now up to CAF to […]