Barcelona (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo was rested and the supporting cast failed to show up as Real Madrid endured a shock 1-0 defeat away to Espanyol on Tuesday. Gerard Moreno struck in the 94th minute at the RCDE Stadium as Real's rotated line-up felt the full punishment for a slack and disjointed display. Gareth Bale, […]

Milan (AFP) – Chinese-owned AC Milan on Tuesday said losses for the first half of the season up to December 31, 2017 were down to 22.3 million euros ($27.3m) from 39.4 million ($48m) for the same period in 2016. After more than 30 years in the hands of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a glorious […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona will launch a professional eSport team and expects to play against other leading European clubs, the La Liga leaders announced on Tuesday. In partnership with their defender Gerard Pique, who founded the company eFootball.Pro in 2016, Barca will compete in the first edition of the Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (PES2018) […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Gonzalo Higuain will miss out through injury as Juventus bid to keep their tilt at a record fourth straight Italian Cup on track in Wednesday's semi-final, second-leg clash against Atalanta. Higuain — the scorer of the third-minute goal which gave Juventus a 1-0 first-leg advantage in Bergamo — suffered an ankle […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Spanish football's La Liga has ratched up the technology it uses to cover matches to meet seemingly insatiable fan demand for statistics and replays of players performances. All La Liga stadiums have since 2010 been equipped with six cameras that track everything that happens on the pitch and which creates stats such […]

Milan (AFP) – Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is Italy's number one choice to take over as national coach, Italian federation vice-commissioner Alessandro Costacurta revealed on Tuesday. "I haven't chosen yet but I think Conte is the one who could do the best," Costacurta told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I'll definitely talk with him in a couple […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino dismissed claims by former Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas that prolific striker Harry Kane needs to leave the club if he wants to win trophies. Villas-Boas gave Kane his Premier League debut in 2012, but the England striker's career only took off once the Portuguese coach departed in […]

London (AFP) – Sadio Mane says Liverpool "can beat any team in the world" as Jurgen Klopp's men chase the Premier League runners-up spot and eye the Champions League quarter-finals. Liverpool are third in the table, two points behind Manchester United after just one defeat in their past 19 Premier League matches and are virtually […]

Basra (Iraq) (AFP) – With his social media campaign welcoming Saudi Arabia's football team to Iraq — "Greens, you're at home!" — Arkan Taqi has broken a taboo in his hometown Basra, close to the Iranian border. On the eve of a friendly match between Iraq and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that marks the return […]

Paris (AFP) – Former Manchester City midfielder and France international Samir Nasri was handed a six-month doping ban "for using a prohibited method" by European football governing body UEFA on Tuesday. Nasri, 30, had appealed to UEFA for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) following a multi-vitamin intravenous booster he received at a Los Angeles clinic […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar still has a "small chance" of playing against Real Madrid in the Champions League and there are no plans for an operation on his cracked bone, Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery said on Tuesday. "For Neymar there has been no decision to have an operation," said Emery, denying an earlier report […]

Berlin (AFP) – Schalke 04 are set to lose another key young player for next season amidst reports on Tuesday that Max Meyer has turned down a lucrative contract extension. Meyer, a 22-year-old midfield dynamo who was linked to Arsenal in January, has so far refused a reported new salary offer of 5.5 million euros […]

Milan (AFP) – Italy goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon confirmed on Tuesday he is ready to come out of international retirement if he is called up for friendlies against England and Argentina. Buffon called time on his international career after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia, losing a two-legged play-off to Sweden […]

Paris (AFP) – While Paris Saint Germain coach Unai Emery contemplates how to replace Neymar against Real Madrid, the Spaniards' coach Zinedine Zidane is enjoying the luxury of being able to rest his star, Cristiano Ronaldo. Neymar was all but ruled out of PSG's Champions League last 16 second leg against Real in just over […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is giving Cristiano Ronaldo a break and has left him out of the 19-man squad to face Espanyol in La Liga on Tuesday. But Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema are both included in the squad, a week before the second leg of the Champions League last 16 […]