London (AFP) – Tottenham make the short journey across London to take on Crystal Palace on Sunday with manager Mauricio Pochettino comparing midfielder Mousa Dembele to Diego Maradona. "I have said before that he is a genius of football," said the Spurs boss of the Belgium international. "I put him next to Ronaldinho, Maradona, (Jay-Jay) […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is under pressure to show a more daring approach and get the best out of Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez for a grudge match against Chelsea's Antonio Conte on Sunday. Pogba hasn't completed 90 minutes in over a month after being dropped by Mourinho for […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane and his Barcelona counterpart Ernesto Valverde on Friday strongly condemned the violence which led to a police officer dying before a Europa League game in Spain between Athletic Bilbao and Spartak Moscow. "Our thoughts are with his family. I don't like violence, and it is very hard […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho played down their bitter war of words on Friday ahead of Manchester United's potentially feisty meeting with Chelsea at Old Trafford. Blues boss Conte has clashed numerous times with United manager Mourinho since arriving at Stamford Bridge in 2016. The feud deepened this season when the United […]

Paris (AFP) – Former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez was given a 10,000-euro ($12,293, £8,800) fine by a Paris court on Friday after an incident of drunken violence last year. Douchez, who now plays for Lens in France's Ligue 2, will not appeal against the court ruling, his lawyer said. He was charged with violence […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was Friday charged by the Football Association over his wearing of a yellow ribbon in support of jailed Catalan independence leaders. The FA said in a statement that the symbol worn by the former Barcelona boss on his jacket was in breach of its kit and advertising […]

London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp said Friday he is "absolutely not happy" with Liverpool's season so far despite his team's rich vein of recent form. Klopp's side start the weekend sitting third in the table, having lost just once in 18 Premier League matches, and victory would carry them above Manchester United, who are not […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus could make a shock return for Sunday’s League Cup final against Arsenal but Pep Guardiola has doubts over Raheem Sterling's fitness for the Wembley showpiece. Brazil international Jesus has not featured for the Premier League leaders since he suffered a knee ligament injury against Crystal […]

Nyon (Switzerland) (AFP) – Arsenal, the last surviving British club, on Friday drew seven-time European champion AC Milan in the last 16 of the Europa League. Arsenal struggled to overcome Swedish minnows Ostersunds in the last round, being booed off by their fans at the Emirates after losing 2-1 on Thursday but going through 4-2 […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho said Friday he respects Paul Pogba's "professionalism" following reports of a heated training ground row with the out-of-favour Manchester United midfielder. Mourinho last week dismissed as "lies" any talk of the Frenchman wanting to leave Old Trafford less than two years after he returned to the club from […]

Casablanca (Morocco) (AFP) – Wydad Casablanca should continue a run of Moroccan successes Saturday by lifting the CAF Super Cup, the first match in Africa to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system. The Casablanca club won the CAF Champions League last November, the same month that the national team qualified for the 2018 World […]

Saint-Germain-en-Laye (France) (AFP) – Brazilian star Neymar missed training on Friday because, said Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery, he was "ill". PSG play bitter rivals Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday at the Parc des Princes. "Today he was ill," Emery said. "I hope Neymar will be well enough to train tomorrow and will be ready […]

London (AFP) – Leicester manager Claude Puel has challenged the former Premier League champions to win the "second championship" as the club prepare for the run-in to the end of the season. The Foxes astonished football under Claudio Ranieri when they shunted English football's aristocrats aside to win the title in 2016 but the "Big […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger vowed Friday to take the attack to Premier League leaders Manchester City as he bids to lift the League Cup for the first time in his career. Wenger has won the FA Cup a record seven times since he took the helm at Arsenal but has twice been […]

Madrid (AFP) – Police arrested nine people, including three Russians and a Pole, during clashes in Bilbao ahead of a Europa League match between Russian club Spartak Moscow and Athletic Bilbao in which a police officer died of a heart attack, officials said Friday. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy offered his condolences for the death […]