London (AFP) – Leo Bonatini's 12th goal of the season was sufficient to give Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers a 1-0 win over struggling Birmingham City on Monday for their sixth successive victory. Bonatini's first-half effort — which was given thanks to goal line technology — saw Wolves restore their four point lead over Cardiff, […]

London (AFP) – Veteran Spanish international Cesc Fabregas is happy he has proved Chelsea manager Antonio Conte wrong and shown he is an indispensable part of the Premier League champions' side. The 30-year-old midfielder — who has played 18 times already this season compared to just the four appearances he had at a similar stage […]

Paris (AFP) – Holders Paris Saint-Germain face a trip to fellow Ligue 1 outfit Rennes in the French Cup last 64 following Monday's draw. The two sides faced each other in the last 32 a year ago, with PSG romping to a 4-0 success in Brittany. Champions Monaco face a trip to fourth tier Yzeure […]

Athens (AFP) – Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri revealed captain Gianluigi Buffon and midfielder Miralem Pjanic were both in doubt for Tuesday night's crunch Champions League game against Olympiakos. Juventus — runners-up twice in the last three seasons — head to Athens needing a win to ensure their passage to the knockout phase. But Gonzalo Higuain […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool will host city rivals Everton for the second time inside a month when they face-off in the third round of the FA Cup in early January after the draw was made on Monday. Liverpool — who beat Everton in the 2012 semi-final, their last FA Cup meeting — also host their […]

Madrid (AFP) – Valencia midfielder Fabian Orellana will join Eibar on loan until the end of the season, the Basque club confirmed on Monday. The temporary move for the Chilean international will be made permanent if Eibar stay up at the end of the season. "The interest of the club and their sporting project attracted […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will face no sanctions following a bizarre post-match rant aimed at Southampton's Nathan Redmond after the Premier League leaders stole a late win. Guardiola harangued the Southampton midfielder following his side's last-gasp 2-1 victory last week and the Football Association gave him until Monday to respond. It […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona striker Luis Suarez insisted he cannot envisage former teammate Neymar moving to rivals Real Madrid due to his "admiration" for Barca. Neymar spent four years at the Camp Nou before sensationally moving to Paris Saint-German in August for a world record 222 million euro ($264 million) fee. However, rumours of a […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate has been told his job is safe even if his side lose all their group matches at next year's World Cup in Russia. Southgate took the reins on a permanent basis 12 months ago on a four-year contract and oversaw a successful qualification for the 2018 showpiece event, […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says his struggling side can thrive on criticism over their patchy form, admitting the team have not yet learned the winning habit of teams such as Real Madrid. Spurs laboured to a 1-1 draw at Watford on Saturday, their fourth Premier League match in a row without a […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is refusing to concede defeat in the Premier League title race even though his team are now 15 points adrift of Manchester City in top spot. Mauricio Pochettino has ruled Tottenham out of contention but Wenger is refusing to throw in the towel despite Saturday's painful 3-1 loss […]

Milan (AFP) – Italian Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that he turned down the role of Italy coach preferring to stay in club management. Ancelotti, 58, was the favourite to take over after Giampiero Ventura was fired following Italy's shock failure to reach the World Cup final for the first time in 60 years. "Yes the […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Carlos Tevez has three weeks to resolve his future at Shanghai Shenhua with the handsomely paid Argentine forward expected back with the rest of the squad by December 26. The 33-year-old, who earns some of the highest wages in world football on a reported 730,000 euros a week, has flopped in China […]

Berlin (AFP) – Jupp Heynckes, the 72-year-old disciplinarian who has steadied the ship at Bayern Munich, has urged his side to keep it simple for Tuesday's crunch Champions League match at home to Paris Saint-Germain. Bayern need to win by a four-goal margin in order to win their group, a situation they find themselves in […]

Madrid (AFP) – As a red-hot Antoine Griezmann hopes to keep Atletico Madrid's faint Champions League hopes alive at Stamford Bridge, the stage is also set for the Frenchman to showcase his talents to a host of Premier League suitors. Atletico need to beat Chelsea in London on Tuesday and hope Roma don't beat Champions […]