Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola says Manchester City were always his first-choice club when he decided to come to the Premier League, despite Alex Ferguson's attempt to lure him to Manchester United. Former United manager Ferguson wrote in his 2015 book 'Leading' that he asked Guardiola to contact him before accepting his next […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid sent a warning to Barcelona just two weeks ahead of El Clasico by storming back into form as Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in a 5-0 thrashing of Sevilla on Saturday. Sevilla had started the afternoon on the same number of points as Madrid in joint fourth, but the sides looked […]

Milan (AFP) – Unbeaten Inter Milan maintained their lead at the top of Serie A after a hard-fought goalless draw at arch-rivals Juventus on Saturday. Luciano Spalletti's Inter leave Turin two points ahead of second-placed Napoli, who are level on 38 points with Juventus and have the chance to reclaim top spot at home to […]

Berlin (AFP) – Peter Bosz is on the verge of being sacked, according to reports, after Borussia Dortmund's latest failure left them winless in their last eight Bundesliga games. Dortmund's miserable run continued on Saturday as they crashed to a 2-1 home defeat against third-bottom Werder Bremen. Magazine Sport Bild report that the decision to […]

Berlin (AFP) – Arturo Vidal's fourth goal in as many league games shot Bayern Munich to a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt and an eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday. Bayern's win means that they cannot be caught before the winter break, which starts on December 17, and makes them 'Herbstmeister' […]

Paris (AFP) – Runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain shook off the absence of the suspended Neymar on Saturday to end their recent wobble with a 3-1 win over managerless Lille in Ligue 1. Argentine winger Angel Di Maria nodded in a cross from Kylian Mbappe on 28 minutes at a chilly Parc des Princes, with Pastore […]

Abu Dhabi (AFP) – Al Jazira set up a Club World Cup semi-final against Real Madrid after an Ali Mabkhout goal saw the Emiratis past Japan's Urawa Reds 1-0 on Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo's Real will take on the local side on Wednesday. The other semi-final, on Tuesday, will pitch Pachuca from Mexico against Copa Libertadores […]

London (AFP) – Wolverhampton Wanderers could see their lead in The Championship reduced to two points if Cardiff beat Reading on Monday after they were held 0-0 by 10-man Sunderland on Saturday. Wolves dominated the game with 24 shots against second from bottom Sunderland who showed a resilient side to their character lacking in the […]

London (AFP) – South Korean forward Son Heung-Min sparkled as Tottenham Hotspur returned to winning ways in style by crushing sorry Stoke City 5-1 at Wembley on Saturday. After a four-game winless streak in the Premier League, Tottenham took their frustrations out on a poor Stoke side to provisionally climb to fifth place in the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid sent a warning to Barcelona just two weeks ahead of El Clasico by storming back into form as Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in a 5-0 thrashing of Sevilla on Saturday. Sevilla had started the afternoon on the same number of points as Madrid in joint fourth, but the sides looked […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo paraded his record-equalling fifth Ballon d'Or to an adoring Santiago Bernabeu before Real Madrid’s clash with Sevilla on Saturday. Ronaldo pulled level on Thursday with Barcelona rival Lionel Messi as the only two men to have won the annual award for the best player in the world five times. It […]

London (AFP) – David Moyes claimed his first win as West Ham United manager after Marko Arnautovic's goal gave the Premier League strugglers a shock 1-0 win over champions Chelsea on Saturday. Arnautovic, the Hammers' £24 million ($32.1 million, 27.3 million euros) record signing, struck in the sixth minute to earn Moyes his first win […]

London (AFP) – England goalkeeper Joe Hart was dropped by manager David Moyes for West Ham United's Premier League home game with Chelsea on Saturday. Moyes instead opted for Adrian after the Spaniard shone last weekend in West Ham's 2-1 defeat at Hart's parent club Manchester City, for which Hart was ineligible. Hart, 30, produced […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal demonstrated their powers of recovery midweek but Arsene Wenger knows a greater test lies ahead when they return to Premier League action at Southampton on Sunday. Wenger and his players were left crushed following last weekend's home defeat by Manchester United when they dominated periods of the game, producing 33 shots […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claims there is more to his side than his devastating "Fab Four" attack ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby with Everton. The Beatles-inspired nickname has been given to the front quartet of Philippe Coutinho, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane after some eye-catching performances this season. However, Klopp believes […]