Berlin (AFP) – Kevin Volland scored a second half brace to pull his Bayer Leverkusen side out of a sticky situation at Fortuna Dusseldorf and secure a 2-1 victory on Wednesday. Dusseldorf had the better of the first half, as Benito Raman and Rouwen Hennings forced early saves from Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky. Yet Leverkusen […]

Leganés (Spain) (AFP) – Gerard Pique made the mistake and Ernesto Valverde will take his share of the blame after Barcelona slipped to their first defeat of the season against Leganes on Wednesday. Pique committed the decisive error, his fluffed clearance allowing Oscar Rodriguez to score Leganes' second of two goals in two incredible minutes, […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate is set to sign an improved contract that will pay him around £3 million ($3.9 million) over the next four years, according to reports on Wednesday. Southgate led England to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia earlier this year, but he was coy about his long-term plans when […]

Paris (AFP) – Moussa Dembele scored his first two goals for Lyon in two minutes on Wednesday in Dijon to set his team on course for an 3-0 victory that lifted them into second in Ligue 1. The 22-year old striker, who joined from Celtic on August 31, scored the opener after 17 minutes with […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid forward Angel Correa has extended his contract until 2024, the club announced on Wednesday. Correa joined Atletico from Argentinian side San Lorenzo four years ago and has played 147 games for Diego Simeone's team. "I am proud the club continues to trust me and to continue to grow as a […]

London (AFP) – England number one Jordan Pickford said he believes moving to Everton was the key factor in him starring at the World Cup as he signed a new six-year deal with The Toffees on Wednesday. Pickford didn't make his England debut until after joining Everton from Sunderland for £30 million ($39 million) in […]

Monaco (AFP) – Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim insists he will not walk away from the club after their dreadful start to the season continued on Tuesday. The principality side slumped to a 1-0 home defeat against Angers, leaving the 2017 champions without a win in six league matches since beating Nantes on the opening weekend […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba were involved in a tense-looking exchange at Manchester United's training ground on Wednesday, a day after the manager confirmed the World Cup star had been stripped of the role of vice-captain. Pogba was rested by Mourinho for the shock League Cup third-round exit against Championship side Derby […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka faces a race to be fit to face Hertha Berlin on Friday after twisting his ankle playing out of position at left-back. The 23-year-old Germany international, normally a central midfielder, replaced David Alaba at left-back for Tuesday's 1-1 draw at home to Augsburg, but twisted his ankle […]

Paris (AFP) – Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim saw his side endure another disappointing result on Tuesday but he is not putting their dreadful start to the season down to the huge turnover of players at the club. The Portuguese saw his team slump to a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Angers in the […]

London (AFP) – Paul Pogba's relationship with Jose Mourinho appears to be fractured beyond repair after the Manchester United boss said the French World Cup star would never captain the side again. Pogba, who returned to Manchester in 2016 for a then world-record fee of £89 million ($117 million) struggled towards the end of last […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany head coach Joachim Loew was reportedly blocked from meeting Mesut Ozil at Arsenal's training ground on Monday to discuss the midfielder's fiery retirement from international duty. Loew and Germany's team director Oliver Bierhoff were in London at the weekend to take part in a FIFA coaching congress and then visited Arsenal's […]

Milan (AFP) – Coach Luciano Spalletti believes Inter Milan are finally beginning to gel as a team after a 2-1 win over Fiorentina on Tuesday night gave them their first back-to-back wins this season in Serie A, lifting them up towards the top of the table. Captain Mauro Icardi got his first Serie A goal […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino is confident Tottenham will be playing in their new stadium by the end of the year and said once they are installed there will be "no excuses" for not winning trophies. Spurs were supposed to be in their 62,000-seater arena from the middle of this month but failures to "critical […]

Guangzhou (AFP) – Goals change games in football but for Dragan Stojkovic, the man Arsene Wenger once tipped to succeed him at Arsenal, one goal altered the course of his career and landed him in China instead of at Premier League outfit Swansea City. The 53-year-old Yugoslavia legend, who is managing Guangzhou R&F in the […]