Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in 10 successive Champions League games as he struck twice for holders Real Madrid in a 3-0 win at Juventus in Tuesday's quarter-final first leg. Ronaldo grabbed the opening goal in Turin after just three minutes and added a second on the hour […]

Seoul (AFP) – Big-spending Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua were eliminated from the 2018 AFC Champions League with a game to spare on Tuesday after drawing 2-2 with Kashima Antlers of Japan at home. Giovanni Moreno shot Shanghai ahead from the spot after 13 minutes and Mao Jianqing, an early replacement for injured striker Obafemi Martins […]

Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Bayern Munich placed one foot in the last four of the Champions League as Thiago Alcantara's header gave them a 2-1 win away to Sevilla on Tuesday in the first leg of their quarter-final in Spain. Sevilla had knocked out Manchester United in the last 16 and another shock looked on […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets are both set to return for Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Roma at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. Messi sat out Argentina's two friendlies over the international break with a hamstring problem and only came off the bench against Sevilla on Saturday, when […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola promised to stick by his principles and attack Liverpool in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, despite admitting he is playing into his opponents' hands. Liverpool are the only side to beat runaway leaders City in the Premier League this season in a 4-3 thriller […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Manchester City will be without the club's all-time record goalscorer Sergio Aguero for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, first leg away to Liverpool. The Argentine striker, who has scored 30 goals this season, has been sidelined for a month with a knee injury. City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed on Tuesday Aguero hasn't travelled […]

Milan (AFP) – AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso believes Wednesday's 'Derby della Madonnina' against bitter city rivals Inter is beginning to recapture its past glory with Champions League qualification potentially at stake. "After so many years the derby is back to being something significant, it will be a great game," said Gattuso of the Serie […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp urged his players to write themselves into the club's storied European history when they face runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. While City currently have the upper hand domestically as they sit 18 points clear of third-placed […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur reported record revenue of £306.3 million ($431 million, 350 million euros) on Tuesday but the Premier League club's chairman said he expects "many challenges" in the coming months. Daniel Levy, who has kept a tight rein on the wages of top players, added the London club are in "a historic […]

London (AFP) – Cameroon international defender Joel Matip is out for the rest of the season, dealing a blow to Liverpool on the eve of their Champions League quarter-final first leg clash with Manchester City. The 26-year-old Germany-born star requires surgery on a thigh he injured during his side's 2-1 victory over Premier League strugglers […]

Indramayu (Indonesia) (AFP) – When Eman Sulaeman begged his parents to let him play football, the couple worried their young son — born with no feet and just one full leg — would be mocked. But two decades later, the 30-year-old Indonesian goalkeeper is wowing crowds at home and abroad with his "cat-like" reflexes, and […]

Gadaref (Sudan) (AFP) – In Sudan, where a women's national football team remains a distant dream, Salma al-Majidi knew the only way to take part in her beloved sport was to coach... and that the players had to be men. Majidi, 27, acknowledged by FIFA as the first Arab and Sudanese woman to coach a […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Lionel Messi is expected back for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Roma and for Barcelona his return cannot come soon enough. Messi's latest rescue-act on Saturday, when he came off the bench to inspire a remarkable fightback against Sevilla, has regurgitated the question of Barca's dependency on their number 10. […]

London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp has no qualms about saluting Pep Guardiola's ability to create "extraordinary" teams, but the Liverpool boss is convinced he can bridge the class divide when Manchester City visit Anfield for their Champions League showdown. Having first gone head to head with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, the friendly rivalry between […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri is expecting Argentine ace Paulo Dybala to fire against Real Madrid in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg. "Dybala will play a great game, he has grown a lot both on the physical and psychological level and is coming into his own scoring a nice goal against […]