London (AFP) – Manchester City signed United States goalkeeper Zack Steffen from Columbus Crew on Tuesday. Steffen agreed a four-year contract with the Premier League champions and will move to Manchester in July as back-up to City's first-choice keeper Ederson. The 23-year-old will remain with Columbus for the early stages of their 2019 MLS Eastern […]

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Malaysia came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw with Vietnam in the first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup final at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Tuesday. Goals by Nguyen Huy Hung and Pham Duc Huy midway through the first half put the visitors in charge but Shahrul […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Injury-hit Manchester City have just 15 senior players fit for Wednesday's Champions League tie against Hoffenheim, boss Pep Guardiola revealed on Tuesday. David Silva and Fernandinho have joined an injury list at City that already featured Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Danilo, Benjamin Mendy and Claudio Bravo. "We have 15 […]

Piraeus (Greece) (AFP) – Former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure has left Olympiakos for a second time, after only playing five times, the Greek Super League club announced on Tuesday. Toure, 35, joined Olympiakos three months after originally making his mark in Europe with the Greek side during the 2005-2006 season. "Olympiacos FC and Yaya […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has praised Manchester City star Raheem Sterling for refusing to be intimidated by the menace of racism in football. Sterling endured alleged racial abuse from a Chelsea fan during City's 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The 24-year-old was targeted by the supporter while he was standing […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has told Kingsley Coman to stop all talk of retiring from "aggressive" modern-day football and focus on returning to the fray with his morale intact. Injury-plagued Coman, who has started only three Champions League games for Bayern since joining the club in 2016, said in a recent […]

Doha (AFP) – Former Iceland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson said Qatar "was the place to be" as he was officially unveiled as the coach of club side Al-Arabi in Doha on Tuesday. It is Hallgrimsson's first job since leaving the Iceland post and guiding his country to their first World Cup finals earlier this year, and […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Veteran Dutch winger Arjen Robben will play no part in Bayern Munich's Champions League clash at Ajax due to an ongoing knee injury, the Bundesliga giants said Tuesday. Robben, 34, has been out injured since scoring twice in a 5-1 win over group rivals Benfica last month and has yet to […]

Bangkok (AFP) – A former Bahrain national footballer with Australian refugee status must remain in detention, a Thai court ordered Tuesday, as campaigners feared he could be "tortured" if extradited to the Gulf state. Hakeem Alaraibi says he was arrested and beaten at the start of the Arab Spring protests in Bahrain in 2012, and was […]

Berlin (AFP) – Resurgent Bayern Munich head to Ajax for Wednesday's Champions League group showdown with clear winners and losers among the star-studded squad after Niko Kovac's decision to end rotation. "We want to keep going," said Leon Goretzka, now a firm fixture in central midfield alongside Joshua Kimmich with Bayern having won their last […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool have a strong enough squad to maintain a challenge for both the Premier League and the Champions League. Jurgen Klopp's side went top of the English top flight with a 4-0 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday. But Liverpool will be eliminated from Europe's elite club competition if […]

London (AFP) – Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville claims Manchester City star Raheem Sterling endured years of "vicious" abuse before the alleged racist slurs directed at him by Chelsea fans on Saturday. Sterling was subjected to reported racist abuse from Chelsea fans during City's 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have suspended four supporters […]

Abidjan (AFP) – Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier on Monday slammed the "stupid" decision of CAF to strip his country of the right to host the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) finally announced their long-anticipated decision to take the 2019 finals away from Cameroon due to delays in the […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Marco Silva had the last laugh against his former club Watford as Everton defender Lucas Digne's last-gasp free-kick rescued a dramatic 2-2 draw at Goodison Park on Monday. Everton manager Silva was facing Watford for the first time since his acrimonious departure from Vicarage Road in January. The 41-year-old was sacked by […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Monday he is an "optimist" as his team bid to stun Barcelona at the Camp Nou and snatch a place in the Champions League last 16. The Premier League outfit have kept their hopes of qualification alive with dramatic back-to-back wins over PSV Eindhoven and Inter […]