Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola is confident Manchester City are better equipped to cope with the gruelling winter schedule this season than they were 12 months ago. The Premier League leaders face a hectic December in which they must play nine games in the Premier League, League Cup and Champions League. That draining […]

Milan (AFP) – Argentina striker Mauro Icardi bagged another brace to send Inter Milan top of Serie A on Saturday with a 3-1 win at Cagliari. In-form skipper Icardi opened Inter's account after 29 minutes in Sardinia, before adding a second late on to bring his tally to 15 goals this season. Inter's Croatian midfielder […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo's first La Liga goal for over a month ensured Real Madrid closed the gap on leaders Barcelona to seven points by squeezing past struggling Malaga 3-2 on Saturday. Ronaldo's relief was clear to see when he fired home the rebound after seeing his penalty saved by Roberto 15 minutes from […]

Pretoria (AFP) – TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo defended superbly to force a 0-0 draw at SuperSport United of South Africa Saturday and retain the CAF Confederation Cup. The Congolese club restricted the home team to just one shot on target in the second leg of the final in Pretoria, which saw […]

Liverpool (AFP) – A fluke 85th-minute goal by substitute Willian denied Liverpool a morale-boosting Premier League victory as Chelsea rescued a 1-1 draw at a chilly Anfield on Saturday. Looking to bounce back from the trauma of letting a 3-0 lead slip in their 3-3 draw at Sevilla in the Champions League, Liverpool went ahead […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich suffered their first defeat since Jupp Heynckes returned as head coach when they fell to a 2-1 loss at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund blew a four-goal lead to draw the Ruhr derby with Schalke. Before losing at Gladbach, Bayern had won all nine games since […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea rode their luck to salvage a 1-1 draw at Liverpool thanks to Willian's late leveller, while Manchester United cut Manchester City's Premier League lead to five points with a 1-0 win over Brighton on Saturday. Antonio Conte's Chelsea were five minutes away from suffering a major blow to their hopes of […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo's first La Liga goal for over a month ensured Real Madrid closed the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to seven points by squeezing past struggling Malaga 3-2 on Saturday. Ronaldo's relief was clear to see when he fired home the rebound after seeing his penalty saved by Roberto 15 […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham's troubles against defensive teams resurfaced as they were held to a damaging 1-1 draw against managerless West Bromwich Albion at Wembley on Saturday. After complaining this week that his team had struggled to break down teams that defend deep, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was frustrated again as lowly West Brom held […]

Berlin (AFP) – Centre-back Naldo completed Schalke's thrilling four-goal fightback at rivals Borussia Dortmund with a 94th-minute header on Saturday as the Ruhr derby finished in a frantic 4-4 draw. Having been four down after just 25 minutes, Brazilian Naldo's last-gasp header brought Schalke back from the dead against troubled, 10-man local rivals Dortmund, to […]

Berlin (AFP) – Former Borussia Dortmund player Naldo sealed Schalke's thrilling four-goal fightback against his old club with a 94th-minute header that saw the Ruhr derby finish in a frantic 4-4 draw. Brazilian defender Naldo's last gasp header brought Schalke back from the dead against troubled, 10-man local rivals Dortmund after going four down after […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic's introduction as a second-half substitute proved crucial as Manchester United finally discovered a way to beat newly-promoted Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday. The goal came from a 67th-minute corner, conceded by Solomon March but hotly disputed by the visitors, and their anger increased […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United closed the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City to five points with a 1-0 win over Brighton, while Tottenham's title hopes suffered another blow in a 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Jose Mourinho's United bounced back from their surprise Champions League defeat at Basel in midweek […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus have activated the buy-out clause for Douglas Costa in a club record 46 million euro (54.8 million) deal for his German club Bayern Munich. The 27-year-old Brazilian winger has been on loan at the Serie A champions since the beginning of the season. Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed late Friday […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Lionel Messi hopes to end his career at Barcelona after ending months of speculation on Saturday by signing a contract extension to 2021, sealing an agreement reached in July, the club announced. Barca had said in the summer that Messi, 30, had committed his future to the club but the Argentine had not […]