Guangzhou (AFP) – Guangzhou Evergrande players and staff tossed an emotional Luiz Felipe Scolari in the air and hailed the Brazilian coach after they sealed their seventh straight Chinese Super League title in what is expected to be his final season in charge. Scolari's men thrashed Guizhou Zhicheng 5-1 at home on Sunday to win […]

London (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo's stunning exploits with Real Madrid make him the strong favourite to win the 2017 Best FIFA Men's Player Award at Monday's ceremony in London. The Portuguese superstar, who won last year's inaugural award, fired Madrid to glory in La Liga and scored 12 goals as they won the Champions League […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane insisted Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win FIFA's 'The Best' award for 2017 despite his faltering La Liga form so far this season. Ronaldo missed Real's first four La Liga games through suspension, but has managed just one goal in the last five and was wasteful once more […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Jamaican international Darren Mattocks scored a second-half winner as the Portland Timbers defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 to seal top spot in Major League Soccer's Western Conference on Sunday. Mattocks tapped in on 48 minutes to give Portland the lead after Liam Ridgewell had equalised for the Timbers following Kendall Waston's […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Ronald Koeman insisted he could still arrest Everton's alarming slump down the Premier League table even as he picked through the wreckage of Arsenal's 5-2 win at Goodison Park on Sunday. The Dutch manager saw the Merseyside club drop into the bottom three of the Premier League following an astonishing game which […]

London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp pledged to "fix" his Liverpool team's chronic defensive problems after a 4-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur left them 12 points adrift in the Premier League title race. Spurs exploited abject Liverpool defending throughout Sunday's game at Wembley, with Harry Kane scoring twice as Mauricio Pochettino's men moved level on points […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar was both hero and villain as the Brazil superstar scored and was then sent off as Paris Saint Germain snatched a last-gasp 2-2 draw in a fiery clash with bitter rivals Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Marseille opened the scoring with a Luiz Gustavo long range shot on 16 minutes […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid moved back to within five points of La Liga leaders Barcelona with a hassle free 3-0 victory over Eibar on Sunday. Madrid have struggled at the Santiago Bernabeu this season, dropping points in four of their previous six home games. However, Eibar did most of the damage for them as […]

Austin (AFP) – Retired sprint king Usain Bolt has vowed to pursue his dream of playing professional football but admits he will not "embarrass" himself if his goal is out of reach. The Jamaican track and field superstar, who retired from athletics after August's World Championships, has long spoken of trying his hand at soccer […]

Milan (AFP) – Sami Khedira hit a hat-trick as ten-man Juventus kept pace with leaders Napoli and Inter Milan in a 6-2 goalfest at Udinese Sunday as AC Milan's campaign unravelled further with a goalless draw at Genoa. Massimilano Allegri's champions desperately needed to win at Udine after claiming just one point in their previous […]

London (AFP) – It was a case of 'North London nine, Merseyside three' as Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal inflicted thumping defeats on both Liverpool and Everton respectively in the Premier League on Sunday. Hopes that this might be the season where Liverpool ended their wait for a maiden Premier League looked flimsy following a 4-1 […]

London (AFP) – Harry Kane scored twice for Tottenham Hotspur in a 4-1 victory over an abject Liverpool team on Sunday that left the Merseyside club's Premier League title hopes in tatters. Kane struck early in each half, book-ending goals from Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli, with Mohamed Salah netting in reply in front of […]

Paris (AFP) – Lyon climbed to fourth in Ligue 1 on Sunday with a 5-0 away win at promoted Troyes as Dutch striker Memphis Depay scored a second-half hat-trick. The 23-year-old Depay joined Lyon in January 2017 from Manchester United and is finding his feet in France now that Lyon have sold Alexandre Lacazette to […]

Madrid (AFP) – Kevin Gameiro ended Atletico Madrid's goal drought on the road as Diego Simeone's men ground out a 1-0 win at Celta Vigo on Sunday to leapfrog Real Madrid into third in La Liga. Atletico's attacking options while they wait for Diego Costa's return in January have been much criticised in recent weeks, […]

Milan (AFP) – Leonardo Bonucci was sent off for elbowing as AC Milan's stuttering campaign plunged even further on Sunday with a 0-0 draw to Genoa, as elsewhere in Serie A Alexander Kolarov lifted AS Roma past Torino. Milan coach Vincenzo Montella had already been under huge pressure after three straight Serie A losses and […]