Milan (AFP) – Italy coach Roberto Mancini on Saturday named a 31-man squad which included Nice striker Mario Balotelli and five new players including Monaco teenager Pietro Pellegri to face Poland and Portugal in the UEFA Nations League tournament. The games against Poland in Bologna on Friday, September 7 and Portugal in Lisbon on September […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said he "assumed responsibility" but called for improvements as the La Liga giants suffered the rude awakening of a 2-0 defeat at Celta Vigo on Saturday. Atletico travelled to the Balaidos stadium desperate to make amends for a 1-1 draw at Valencia in their opening game of […]

Berlin (AFP) – Leon Goretzka scored his first goal for Bayern Munich as the Bundesliga champions cruised to a 3-0 win over southern rivals VfB Stuttgart to go top of the table on Saturday. The Germany international who joined from Schalke 04 in July had several chances in a hard-fought first half and eventually curled […]

London (AFP) – Maurizio Sarri believes there is far more to come from his Chelsea side despite making it four wins from his first four Premier League matches in charge with a 2-0 home defeat of Bournemouth on Saturday. Sarri had warned in pre-season that his new side could face a difficult start as the […]

Nîmes (France) (AFP) – Kylian Mbappe said he had no regrets after his sending-off in Paris Saint-Germain's win at Nimes on Saturday, and claimed he would not hesitate to do the same thing again. Having earlier scored, the 19-year-old striker was shown a straight red card in stoppage time at the end of PSG's 4-2 […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – England right-back Kyle Walker’s first goal for almost three years ensured Manchester City celebrated a 2-1 victory over Newcastle on the 10th anniversary of the club’s takeover by Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour. In his 52nd appearance for the club, Walker netted for the first time in spectacular style by driving […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool and Chelsea maintained their perfect Premier League starts after four games on Saturday as champions Manchester City edged past Newcastle to remain two points behind the early leaders. A huge error from £65 million ($84 million) goalkeeper Alisson Becker threatened to halt Liverpool's early season charge, but Jurgen Klopp's men held […]

Berlin (AFP) – Leon Goretzka scored his first goal for Bayern Munich as the Bundesliga champions cruised to a 3-0 win over southern rivals VfB Stuttgart to go top of the table on Saturday. The Germany international had several chances in a hard-fought first half, eventually curling the ball into the bottom corner on 37 […]

Milan (AFP) – Radja Nainggolan scored on his debut as Inter Milan claimed their first three points of the Serie A season with a 3-0 win in Bologna on Saturday. Nainggolan missed the first two games of the campaign with injury following his summer move from Roma. But the 30-year-old Belgian midfielder made amends on […]

London (AFP) – Manuel Pellegrini slammed his West Ham flops for their "very bad" start to the season after the Chilean's struggling side crashed to a fourth successive Premier League defeat. Pellegrini, who spent £100 million ($129 million) on nine new signings in the close-season, has lost his first four league matches with the east […]

London (AFP) – Maurizio Sarri believes there is far more to come from his Chelsea side despite making it four wins from his first four Premier League matches in charge with a 2-0 home defeat of Bournemouth on Saturday. Sarri had warned in pre-season that his new side could face a difficult start as the […]

Paris (AFP) – Kylian Mbappe scored the decisive goal but was later sent off as Paris Saint-Germain survived a major scare, and the concession of a VAR-awarded penalty, to win 4-2 at Nimes on Saturday. Neymar and Angel di Maria, the latter direct from a corner, had PSG two goals up at the Stade des […]

London (AFP) – Dwight Gayle fired West Bromwich Albion to a 2-1 win over Championship rivals Stoke, while promotion chasers Aston Villa were thrashed 4-1 at Sheffield United on Saturday. Albion and Stoke were both relegated from the Premier League last season, but it was the hosts who look more equipped for a quick return […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Steven Naismith's first-half hat-trick maintained Hearts' perfect start to the Scottish Premiership season in a 4-1 thrashing of St Mirren on Saturday and provided some comfort to unwell boss Craig Levein. The former Scotland manager was rushed to hospital on Monday and was unable to take his place in the Tynecastle dugout […]

London (AFP) – Maurizio Sarri's impressive start to life in the Premier League gathered pace as Chelsea maintained their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday. Sarri's side appeared to be in danger of dropping their first points of the season against opponents who were also unbeaten coming into […]