London (AFP) – Derby County manager Wayne Rooney said Saturday he was committed to the English second-tier club despite the financially-stricken side's impending administration. The 35-year-old former Manchester United and England striker, in his first managerial role, insisted he wanted to help rebuild Midlands club Derby after a 2-1 win over Stoke in the English […]

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan bounced back from midweek Champions League disappointment on Saturday with a 6-1 hammering of Bologna which moved the reigning champions top of Serie A. Simone Inzaghi's side were sucker-punched in the last minute by Real Madrid in Wednesday's single-goal defeat but made no mistake this time at the San Siro. […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City left Pep Guardiola feeling "guilty" after his plea for more support from the club's fans was followed by a frustrating 0-0 draw against Southampton on Saturday. Guardiola had irritated a section of City's fanbase by asking for more support after just 38,062 turned out at the Etihad Stadium […]

Paris (AFP) – Lens defeated reigning French champions Lille 1-0 on Saturday in a northern derby overshadowed by a pitch invasion that delayed the start of the second half by 30 minutes. Dozens of Lens supporters stormed the Stade Bollaert-Delelis pitch at half-time to confront the visiting Lille fans nestled away in a corner of […]

Madrid (AFP) – Joao Felix was sent off and Antoine Griezmann failed to fire again as Atletico Madrid were held to a goalless draw by Athletic Bilbao in a bad-tempered contest on Saturday. Griezmann started ahead of Luis Suarez but was replaced by the Uruguayan after 55 minutes at the Wanda Metropolitano without registering a […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Southampton as the fans who packed the Etihad Stadium following Pep Guardiola's plea endured a lacklustre display on Saturday. It might have been even worse for Guardiola's side after referee Jon Moss controversially overturned decisions to award Southampton a penalty […]

Burnley (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Martin Odegaard's exquisite free-kick handed Arsenal a 1-0 win against Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday as Mikel Arteta's team recorded back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time this season. The Norway midfielder guided a shot above Burnley's wall from 25 yards out in the 30th minute to score […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich topped the Bundesliga for the first time this season with a 7-0 thrashing of Bochum on Saturday as Robert Lewandowski scored for a record 13th consecutive home league game. Joshua Kimmich netted twice while Lewandowski poached a second-half goal to claim another league record as Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry and […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain's sporting director Leonardo angrily dismissed as "very far from reality" a story in L'Equipe on Saturday claiming the Qatar-owned club were paying Lionel Messi a "giant" salary of 110 million euros" over the next three seasons. Leonardo's forceful denial of the veracity of the French sports daily's front page revelation […]

London (AFP) – Derby County manager Wayne Rooney said Saturday he had only found out about the financially-stricken club's plan to enter administration by watching television news bulletins. The 35-year-old former Manchester United and England striker, in his first managerial role, also confirmed he had yet to speak with County chairman Mel Morris. Second-tier English […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – While Brazil's national team marches on towards a place at next year's World Cup with a 100 percent record in South American qualifying, the country's clubs are dominating the Copa Libertadores, making the most of their unrivalled financial power on the continent and a conveyor belt of young talent. For the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United's shock Champions League defeat to Swiss champions Young Boys has already ratcheted up the pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite an impressive start to the Premier League season. A star-studded side including Cristiano Ronaldo plus £100 million-worth ($138 million) of new signings in Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho […]

London (AFP) – Former English champions Derby County have applied to enter administration, the struggling second-tier club announced Friday. The Championship side issued a statement which claimed the club's directors "had no choice but to make the tough decision" to file notice to appoint administrators following a failure to secure new owners and the impact […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Brazilian football legend Pele, 80, was briefly transferred back to an intensive care unit Friday after suffering breathing difficulties but is now stable, said the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, where he underwent surgery earlier this month. The transfer was a temporary "preventative measure," the hospital said in a statement, […]

Newcastle (United Kingdom) (AFP) – French forward Allan Saint-Maximin rescued a point for Newcastle as both they and Leeds were left searching for a first Premier League win of the season following an entertaining 1-1 draw at St James' Park on Friday. Loud boos were heard at full-time from a crowd of more than 50,000 […]