London (AFP) – Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is set for crunch talks with Thibaut Courtois on Monday after the Belgium goalkeeper's agent claimed he wants to join Real Madrid. Courtois missed Chelsea's 2-0 defeat against Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday while he continues to rest after the World Cup. But the 26-year-old […]

London (AFP) – Teenager Phil Foden is ready for the challenges of the Premier League, according to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, after the England Under-17 World Cup winner impressed in the routine 2-0 victory over Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday. The 18-year-old, who earned a league winner's medal after making […]

London (AFP) – Sergio Aguero spoiled Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri's first taste of English football as the Argentine's double gave Manchester City a stylish 2-0 victory in the Community Shield on Sunday. Blues boss Sarri, hired to replace the sacked Antonio Conte last month, endured a miserable debut in the prestigious friendly at Wembley as […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Teenager Bruce Anderson's goal in time added on denied Rangers manager Steven Gerrard a winning debut in the Scottish Premiership as Aberdeen secured a 1-1 draw with 10-man Rangers. Gerrard, who took on his first senior manager's role after coaching the Liverpool Under-18 side last season, could feel hard done by. Despite […]

London (AFP) – Central defender Ben Gibson signed for Premier League side Burnley for a joint club record fee of £15million ($19.5million, 16.8million euros) on Sunday from Championship outfit Middlesbrough. The 25-year-old — capped at all age levels by England up to Under-21 — signed a four year contract after he stayed loyal to Middlesbrough when […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Substitute Marco Asensio made an immediate impact by scoring two early second-half goals as Real Madrid rallied to beat Juventus 3-1 in a pre-season exhibition contest on Saturday. Asensio entered the game at the start of the second half and scored less than two minutes in before adding another in the […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City take on Chelsea on Sunday in the Community Shield at Wembley, the traditional season-opener between the Premier League champions and the FA Cup winners. AFP looks at some of the talking points ahead of the game. Will Sarri put down roots at Chelsea? Maurizio Sarri, 59, has not had long […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has revealed that fear of failure has been the driving force behind his spectacular success at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now Manchester City as he prepares for the new campaign. The 47-year-old Catalan will start the new Premier League season aiming to become the first manager since Alex […]

Dublin (AFP) – Brazil goalkeeper Alisson kept a clean sheet Saturday on his Liverpool debut in a 5-0 demolition of Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli in Dublin. James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum both scored inside the opening 10 minutes at the Aviva Stadium in Liverpool's penultimate pre-season friendly. Liverpool lost Milner to a clash of heads with […]

Al-Ram (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Iraq's national team played its first-ever football match in the Palestinian territories on Saturday and beat the home side 3-0 in a friendly. Some 2,000 people attended the match in Al-Ram near Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, next to Israel's separation wall cutting off the Palestinian territory. Most teams […]

Moscow (AFP) – Zenit St Petersburg edged visitors Arsenal Tula 1-0 on Saturday to register a second straight win to kick off the new Russian Premier League season. Oleg Shatov, who spent last term on loan at Krasnodar, struck the only goal on the hour to give Sergei Semak's men a solid start in their […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic began their bid for an eighth consecutive Scottish Premiership title in style with a convincing 3-1 victory against Livingston on Saturday. Goals from midfielder Tom Rogic and striker Odsonne Edouard secured a comfortable lead at half-time at Celtic Park. French midfielder Olivier Ntcham added a third with a penalty five minutes […]

London (AFP) – West Bromwich Albion suffered a blow in their bid to bounce straight back to the Premier League on Saturday, conceding late to slip to defeat against Bolton as fancied Middlesbrough scored a last-gasp equaliser against Millwall. Bolton nearly slipped back into League One last season but they were able to celebrate a […]

Shenzhen (China) (AFP) – Brazilian superstar Neymar made his first club appearance since February as Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Monaco 4-0 in the French Champions Trophy in China on Saturday. Angel Di Maria's double fired PSG to their first silverware under new coach Thomas Tuchel as Neymar, long sidelined by a foot injury, came on as […]

Yaoundé (AFP) – Clarence Seedorf has been appointed head coach of the Cameroon national team, with his former Netherlands teammate Patrick Kluivert as his assistant, Cameroonian Minister of Sport Pierre Ismael Bidoung Mkpatt said on Saturday. The two former AC Milan players take over from Belgian Hugo Broos, who left last year after the Indomitable […]