Paris (AFP) – Nabil Fekir's penalty helped Lyon beat Montpellier 2-1 on Wednesday to reach the French Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2012. Maxwel Cornet caught home goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte by surprise to give the visitors an early lead, only for Jonathan Ikone to quickly lash in an equaliser. But Fekir grabbed his […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur finally ended lowly Newport County's brave FA Cup run with a 2-0 win in a fourth-round replay at Wembley on Wednesday. Spurs, the eight-times FA Cup winners, were just eight minutes away from a humiliating exit when England striker Harry Kane scored to salvage a 1-1 draw away to fourth-tier […]

Berlin (AFP) – A first half goal from Guido Burgstaller fired Schalke to a 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg and a place in the semi-finals of the German Cup on Wednesday. Last year’s finalists Eintracht Frankfurt also progressed to the last four, as a comedy of defensive errors saw them beat local rivals Mainz 3-0. Frankfurt […]

London (AFP) – Incidents of racism and homophobia in English football are on the rise, according to pressure group Kick It Out. According to its mid-season report, Kick It Out said it had received more than 300 reports relating to 282 cases of discriminatory abuse by the end of 2017, a 59 percent increase from […]

Berlin (AFP) – A comedy of defensive errors, including an own goal from Alexander Hack, saw Eintracht Frankfurt progress to the German Cup semi-finals, as they beat local rivals Mainz 3-0 on Wednesday. A mistake from Mainz goalkeeper Rene Adler gave Frankfurt the lead on 17 minutes. Making his first appearance since he picked up […]

London (AFP) – Watford striker Troy Deeney has escaped disciplinary action over his goal celebration in a shock 4-1 win over Chelsea on Monday after officials failed to agree on whether he had committed a red card offence. Deeney opened the scoring from the penalty spot shortly before half-time and then appeared to make an […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Colombian international defender Yerry Mina is set to make his Barcelona debut in Thursday's second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final at Valencia with Gerard Pique an injury doubt. "(Mina) is selected in the group and that means he's ready to play," Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said on Wednesday, as his […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has said his side "won't let up" as they bid to break their own record for the least amount of games needed to win the Bundesliga title. The Bavarian giants sit 18 points clear at the top of the table — the biggest ever lead after 21 […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayer Leverkusen suffered a blow on Wednesday as their captain Lars Bender is expected to be sidelined for the next three weeks with a groin injury. The Germany defender limped out of Tuesday's 4-2 German Cup win at home to Werder Bremen and a scan has revealed a torn groin. Leverkusen are […]

London (AFP) – West Ham signed former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra on a free transfer on Wednesday, with the Frenchman set to link up again with former boss David Moyes. Evra has won multiple league titles and the Champions League in an illustrious career but his spell at Marseille ended abruptly in November after […]

Monaco (AFP) – Monaco captain Radamel Falcao will miss the next three Ligue 1 games due to a thigh injury picked up during the weekend win over Lyon, the club said on Wednesday. Following last summer's sales, Monaco have been reliant on the 31-year-old this season and he has scored 17 goals in 20 league […]

Berlin (AFP) – Rani Khedira — brother of Germany star Sami — has turned down the chance to play for Tunisia at the 2018 World Cup. The Khedira brothers were born in Stuttgart to a Tunisian father. Both Rani, who is 24, and Sami, 30, played for German junior teams while Juventus midfielder Sami went […]

Madrid (AFP) – Manchester United striker Alexis Sanchez has struck a deal with Spanish authorities to accept a 16-month suspended jail sentence for tax fraud in return for avoiding a trial. Sanchez, who joined United from Arsenal last month, faced being tried over a one-million-euro ($1.23 million) fraud linked to image rights in 2012 and […]

London (AFP) – Riyad Mahrez looks likely to miss this weekend's match against Manchester City, with Leicester's star player reportedly absent from training since he failed to force through a move to the Premier League leaders. It would be the third consecutive league game the Algeria winger has missed since Pep Guardiola's City failed to […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino fears English football’s obsession with over-analysis of decisions and a fixation with diving could kill the sport. Pochettino's side drew 2-2 at Liverpool on Sunday in a match marred by contentious penalty decisions by referee Jon Moss. Tottenham were awarded two penalties which have been the source of […]