Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines (France) (AFP) – Premier League stars Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Benjamin Mendy will miss France's key Nations League fixture against the Netherlands and the Uruguay friendly through injury, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced on Monday. The trio of players arrived in Paris for assessment but were deemed unfit to feature for Didier […]

London (AFP) – Eden Hazard may be feeling the effects of a gruelling schedule but the Belgium midfielder has insisted he is still enjoying life at Chelsea. The 27-year-old Hazard starred as Belgium finished an impressive third at this year's World Cup in Russia and then played his part in helping Chelsea make an unbeaten […]

Paris (AFP) – France will have to take on Croatia in the Davis Cup final in two weeks time without their top ranked star Richard Gasquet. The world number 26 pulled out of the France pre-final training camp Monday with an unspecified injury. "I'm extremely disappointed to announce my absence from the final. I'm fully […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri was on Monday presented with the Panchina d'Oro (Golden Bench) award for the best coach in Serie A in 2017/2018 season. The 51-year-old beat Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, who coached Napoli to second last season, and Lazio's Simone Inzaghi, following a vote by his fellow coaches. Allegri received […]

London (AFP) – Samir Nasri is in line to rejoin Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham when his doping suspension ends, the London Evening Standard reported Monday. The Standard said the 31-year-old midfielder, who played under Pellegrini at Manchester City, is undergoing a medical prior to signing a short-term contract with London club West Ham. While […]

Milan (AFP) – Chievo captain Sergio Pellissier on Monday slammed coach Gian Piero Ventura's decision to quit as coach of the Serie A strugglers after just four games in charge. Ex-Italy manager Ventura informed his players of his decision after Sunday's 2-2 draw against Bologna, saying he did not believe he could save them from […]

Madrid (AFP) – Interim Real Madrid manager Santiago Solari was appointed permanent coach on Monday after overseeing a startling upturn in the European champions' fortunes since he stepped in to replace Julen Lopetegui. "Everything is in order. Real Madrid have worked out his contract and there are no problems," the Spanish football federation stated. Solari […]

Madrid (AFP) – The Spanish press have called for the permanent appointment of Santiago Solari as Real Madrid coach after an unbeaten run as interim boss of the 13-time Champions League winners. According to Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) rules, Real's period of 14 days to either select Solari full-time or to find another coach to […]

London (AFP) – Leicester winger Marc Albrighton has said the club's vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha deserves time to grieve following the death of his father in a helicopter crash. The Foxes were held to a goalless draw by Burnley on Saturday in their first home game since owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died along with four others when […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City's Bernardo Silva reckons a derby win over Manchester United has dealt a huge blow to their local rivals' title hopes, saying Jose Mourinho's men would need to be "almost perfect" between now and the end of the season if they were to win the Premier League. City, the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Former France international Franck Ribery allegedly slapped French television pundit Patrick Guillou after Bayern Munich's 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund, Bild newspaper reported on Sunday. Saturday's loss at the Signal Iduna Park left the German champions struggling in fifth place in the table, seven points behind unbeaten Dortmund who sit at the […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro said he wants to sign "a few new faces" after Guangzhou Evergrande's seven-year reign as Chinese Super League (CSL) champions came crashing to a halt. The former world player of the year's side thrashed Tianjin Teda 5-1 on the final day of the season on Sunday to make […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Atlanta United advanced to the semi-finals of MLS Cup playoffs on Sunday as New York City FC's quest for postseason glory fell short once again. Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez and Paraguayan international Miguel Almiron got the goals to give Atlanta a 3-1 victory, sealing a 4-1 aggregate win. Atlanta will now […]

Milan (AFP) – On-loan AC Milan striker Gonzalo Higuain apologised for his meltdown in the 2-0 defeat to his parent club Juventus on Sunday which saw him sent off for screaming at the referee after earlier missing a penalty. Argentine Higuain had shrugged off a back injury to take on his former teammates after being […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United can forget trying to challenge Manchester City until they can even compete for a place in the Premier League top four, Jose Mourinho confessed as his side were outclassed in a 3-1 derby defeat by the English champions on Sunday. A fourth league loss of the season leaves […]