Paris (AFP) – Barcelona overcame the absence of an injured Lionel Messi to defeat Inter Milan 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Borussia Dortmund signalled their intent with a 4-0 demolition of Atletico Madrid. Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool strolled past Red Star Belgrade, but Paris Saint-Germain needed a superb stoppage-time equaliser from […]

London (AFP) – Marcelo Bielsa saw his Leeds United side put an end to a slump in form by going top of the Championship after a 2-0 victory over bottom club Ipswich Town on Wednesday. The 63-year-old Argentinian manager — whose team had won just once in their last five outings prior to Wednesday after […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund stunned Atletico Madrid with a 4-0 thrashing on Wednesday to move to the verge of the Champions League knockout stage, as English teenager Jadon Sancho scored his first goal in the competition. It was the heaviest Champions League defeat ever suffered by Diego Simeone in seven years as Atletico […]

Paris (AFP) – Angel Di Maria's stunning goal in injury time allowed an out-of-sorts Paris Saint-Germain to snatch a 2-2 draw with an impressive Napoli side in their Champions League clash on Wednesday. PSG looked beaten until Di Maria curled home in the third minute of time added on, salvaging a point from a game […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Rafinha replaced Lionel Messi and helped Barcelona win without him as the Brazilian scored the opener in a 2-0 Champions League victory over Inter Milan on Wednesday. With Messi out for three weeks and Real Madrid next up at the Camp Nou on Sunday, the question was whether Barca could cope without […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has pledged his support for the German national team despite bitterness from both sides over his retirement from international football. "I've always been supporting the DFB Team since my childhood and I've still many friends playing for the German national team," Ozil said in a Twitter Q&A session […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Mohamed Salah continued his return to scoring form by taking his tally for Liverpool to 50 goals as the five-time European champions eased past Red Star Belgrade 4-0 at Anfield. The Egyptian ended a four-game goal drought with the winner at Huddersfield on Saturday and struck twice to open his Champions League […]

Eindhoven (Netherlands) (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino conceded Tottenham Hotspur will need little short of a miracle to get past the group stage after the Premier League giants' Champions League hopes were dented by a 2-2 draw away to PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday. With no points from their opening two Group B fixtures, this was make-or-break […]

Eindhoven (Netherlands) (AFP) – Luuk De Jong scored a dramatic late leveller as PSV Eindhoven scraped a 2-2 Champions League draw with 10-man Tottenham Hotspur to leave the English giants' campaign hanging by a thread on Wednesday. With no points from their opening two Group B fixtures, this was make-or-break for both Spurs and PSV […]

Bruges (Belgium) (AFP) – An injury-hit Monaco failed to give Thierry Henry his first win as a head coach with a 1-1 Champions League draw at Club Brugge on Wednesday. Moussa Sylla raised hopes of Monaco ending an 11-match winless streak by opening the scoring just after the half-hour mark at the Jan Breydel Stadium, […]

Tunis (AFP) – Clashes between police and supporters during a CAF Champions League match in Tunisia led to 51 people being injured and 12 arrested, the interior ministry said Wednesday. Ministry spokesman Sofiene Zaag told AFP that 38 policemen and 13 supporters sustained injuries during a CAF Champions League semi-final second leg in a […]

London (AFP) – Star playmaker Eden Hazard remains doubtful for Chelsea's Premier League clash with Burnley this weekend as he continues to struggle with a back injury, Blues manager Maurizio Sarri said on Wednesday. The 27-year-old has already been ruled out of the Europa League group match at home to Belarus outfit BATE Borisov on […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea will accept the punishment the Football Association (FA) sees fit to impose over assistant coach Marco Ianni's provocative celebration after their late equaliser against Manchester United last Saturday 'Blues' manager Maurizio Sarri said on Wednesday. Sarri — speaking on the eve of Chelsea's Europa League home clash with Belarus outfit BATE […]

Doha (AFP) – Qatar's football World Cup 2022 will be a "carbon-neutral" tournament with zero harmful emissions, the country's environment minister told a sustainability conference on Wednesday. Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi said strict standards in design and construction would offset the tournament's carbon footprint, despite the huge number of infrastructure projects underway in the Gulf […]

Suwon (South Korea) (AFP) – Japan's Kashima Antlers fought back from behind to edge Suwon Bluewings 6-5 on aggregate and reach their first Asian Champions League final after a six-goal thriller on Wednesday. Suwon looked on course for the final after three quick goals in the second half before Kashima, who came from two down […]