London (AFP) – Barcelona's visit to Chelsea on Tuesday gives Antonio Conte the perfect opportunity to reaffirm his stature as one of Europe's greatest coaches. "To play against Barcelona is a great challenge for us," Conte said after easing the pressure on his job with back-to-back home wins over West Brom and Hull in the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola will finally step out at Wigan Athletic's DW Stadium in Manchester City’s fifth-round FA Cup tie with the third-tier side on Monday — 13 years after he almost joined the Lancashire club as a player. The Spanish midfielder was looking to extend his playing career, as a 34-year-old, […]

Paris (AFP) – Florian Thauvin extended his brilliant run of goalscoring form to earn Marseille a 1-0 win over a resurgent Bordeaux on Sunday and reinforce their push for Champions League football next season. Thauvin headed in a corner from Dimitri Payet on 35 minutes at the Velodrome to match last season's career-best return of […]

Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Man of the moment Marco Asensio scored twice and Cristiano Ronaldo was also on target as Real Madrid kept up the feel-good factor with a thrilling 5-3 victory at Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday night. Madrid had been 2-1 down at half-time in a fantastic game at the Benito […]

London (AFP) – New Leeds coach Paul Heckingbottom thanked fans for rallying his side as they fought back to secure a 2-2 draw against Bristol City in England's second-tier Championship on Sunday. Heckingbottom's first home game in charge was heading for defeat, with Leeds booed off by the Elland Road faithful at half-time after gifting […]

Marseille (AFP) – Plans for a group of Marseille supporters to unfurl a giant banner at Sunday's French league game at home to Bordeaux were scrapped after rival fans objected to Netflix financing its production. The global streaming service giant reportedly stumped up between 20,000 and 30,000 euros ($25,000-$37,000) to cover the costs while seeking […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus top scorer Gonzalo Higuain suffered a sprained ankle while winger Federico Bernardeschi took a knock to his left knee in Sunday's bruising 1-0 derby win over Torino. Argentinian striker Higuain suffered "a sprain and bruising of his left ankle," the team said, with Bernardeschi having ligament damage which could rule […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers suggested St Johnstone were letting their manager down as they ended a miserable run of results with a goalless draw away to the champions in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday. It was the second time this season that Tommy Wright's side had come away from leaders Celtic's headquarters […]

Berlin (AFP) – A brilliant first-half strike saw Marco Reus grab his first Bundesliga goal since May to secure a 1-0 win for Borussia Dortmund at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday in a match played on an atrocious pitch. The two teams were forced to play on a highly uneven surface in Moenchengladbach after recent poor […]

Paris (AFP) – Bertrand Traore struck twice but Lyon fell further behind their rivals for a Champions League berth in France after surrendering a two-goal lead in Sunday's 2-2 draw at struggling Lille. Burkina Faso forward Traore, who joined from Chelsea last July, scored twice in the first half as Lyon looked on course for […]

Tunis (AFP) – After a riot sparked by a contested penalty and a flurry of red cards left 19 police officers hospitalised, Etoile Sahel said Sunday they were ready to go to court over their 3-2 defeat by bitter rivals Esperance. Thirty-eight police officers were injured when they were pelted by smoke bombs, stones, chairs […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur were left in FA Cup limbo after being held to a 2-2 draw by lowly Rochdale in a fifth-round tie on Sunday. It seemed Harry Kane's penalty two minutes from time, which made it 2-1 to the visitors, had seen Spurs straight into the last eight. But Steve Davies's stoppage-time […]

London (AFP) – Lowly Rochdale scored deep into stoppage time to deny Tottenham Hotspur victory as their FA Cup fifth-round tie ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw on Sunday. It seemed Spurs had done enough to book their place in the quarter-finals when in-form England striker Harry Kane, on as a substitute, scored from the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Kevin Gameiro came off the bench to score one goal and make another for Diego Costa as Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in La Liga on Sunday. It was another clinical performance from Diego Simeone's side, who have now recorded four consecutive league victories, all without their mean defence conceding a […]

Berlin (AFP) – Mario Gomez fired Stuttgart to a 1-0 victory over southern rivals Augsburg on Sunday, lifting the struggling side four points clear of the bottom three. Gomez’s first-half strike was enough to secure a first away win of the season for Stuttgart, and inflict a first home defeat on neighbours Augsburg since October. […]