London (AFP) – Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins and AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori have returned to the England squad announced on Thursday for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary. But manager Gareth Southgate, whose men top Group I after five wins in their first six games, will have to do without […]

Paris (AFP) – Olivier Giroud has again been left out of the France squad while N'Golo Kante is sidelined for next week's UEFA Nations League finals in Italy. Giroud was celebrating his 35th birthday on Thursday but he did not mark the occasion with a recall to coach Didier Deschamps' squad, having already been dropped […]

London (AFP) – A fan of English Championship side West Brom was Thursday jailed for eight weeks after being found guilty of racially abusing one of the club's own players. Simon Silwood posted a message saying Romaine Sawyers should win the "Baboon d'Or" — a sarcastic reference to the Ballon d'Or trophy for the world […]

Madrid (AFP) – Luis Enrique called up Barcelona’s 17-year-old midfielder Gavi to the Spain squad on Thursday, despite the youngster having only four La Liga appearances to his name. Barcelona’s 18-year-old playmaker Pedri also made a return after being left out in September following his hectic summer playing at both Euro 2020 and the Olympics. […]

Guayaquil (Ecuador) (AFP) – Flamengo are just one win away from a second Copa Libertadores title in two years after defeating Ecuador's Barcelona SC 2-0 on Wednesday to set-up an all-Brazilian final against holders Palmeiras. Two goals from Bruno Henrique — who also bagged a double in last week's first leg win in Rio — […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ronald Koeman said "I don’t know" three times when asked if he has the support of the Barcelona board after a 3-0 defeat at Benfica in the Champions League left the Dutch coach on the brink of the sack. Any credit gained from the morale-boosting victory over Levante on Sunday evaporated in […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo's record 178th Champions League game had been one of his quietest for 94 minutes until the ball broke kindly for him to break Villarreal hearts at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Manchester United's returning hero rode the rescue just in time to salvage a 2-1 win from another performance […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted Manchester United "got lucky" after Cristiano Ronaldo marked his record-breaking 178th Champions League appearance with a 95th-minute winner to beat Villarreal 2-1 at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had barely threatened until he fired past Geronimo Rulli for his fifth goal in as […]

London (AFP) – Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a first-half hat-trick as Fulham won 3-1 at home to Swansea on Wednesday to move up to third place in English football's second-tier Championship. The striker's trio of well-struck finishes came as the London club ended a run of three games without a victory, with Jamie Peterson pulling a […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Barcelona suffered more European humiliation on Wednesday after a 3-0 defeat by Benfica left them in serious danger of failing to make it out of their Champions League group. A hammering in Lisbon, which saw Darwin Nunez score twice, including a second-half penalty, also delivered another heavy blow to Ronald Koeman's hopes […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo marked his record-breaking 178th Champions League appearance with a 95th-minute winner as Manchester United snatched a 2-1 victory over Villarreal at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had barely threatened until he fired past Geronimo Rulli at the back post to ease the mounting pressure on […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Robert Lewandowski scored twice for the second straight Champions League game this season as Bayern Munich cruised to a 5-0 home win over Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday. Lewandowski claimed the 76th and 77th Champions League goals of his career as Bayern cantered into a two-goal lead at the break before Serge […]

Bergamo (Italy) (AFP) – Italy midfielder Matteo Pessina scored a second-half winner as Atalanta edged out Young Boys 1-0 on Wednesday to move top of their Champions League group. The Serie A side, bidding to reach the knockout stage for a third straight season, have four points from two Group F games after an opening […]

London (AFP) – The Premier League was "improperly influenced" by other English top-flight clubs and media group beIN in coming to a decision that effectively blocked the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United, a tribunal was told Wednesday. The "active lobbying" by the clubs and beIN, which owns the broadcast rights for the league in the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona's spending limit this season will be almost 650 million euros ($754 million) lower than Real Madrid's, according to official figures announced by La Liga on Wednesday. Madrid's cap will be 739 million euros while Barca's has been cut to just 97 million euros as a result of their dire financial situation. […]