London (AFP) – Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill was banned from driving for 16 months on Thursday after pleading guilty to drink-driving in the Scottish city of Edinburgh. Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard O'Neill, 48, was stopped by police on the outskirts of the city in the early hours of September 10 and found to be […]

London (AFP) – After several years in the doldrums, English clubs have returned to the fore in the Champions League with a succession of attention-grabbing performances. Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur top their respective pools at the group phase's halfway point and all are currently unbeaten. It is five years since […]

London (AFP) – English Football Association bosses were facing growing calls to quit on Thursday over their "shambolic" handling of the Mark Sampson affair following a damaging grilling from lawmakers. Wednesday's session opened with the publication of a reopened investigation into Chelsea player Eni Aluko's claims of bullying and discrimination against the former England women's […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Chinese media piled pressure on Shanghai SIPG coach Andre Villas-Boas on Thursday after their stinging defeat to Urawa Red Diamonds in the AFC Champions League semi-finals. The Portuguese coach promised silverware in his debut season but after Urawa's 2-1 aggregate win, his best remaining hope seems to be next month's CFA Cup […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Landon Donovan, the all-time goals co-leader for the United States national team, is considering running for president of the US Soccer Federation, Sports Illustrated and ESPN reported Wednesday. The 35-year-old striker, who last played for the American squad in 2014, would be a potential challenger to incumbent Sunil Gulati, who last […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte took the blame for Chelsea's failure to protect their lead in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Roma in the Champions League. Blues boss Conte opted to deploy Brazil defender David Luiz in midfield in a bid to solidify his injury-hit team. Luiz gave Chelsea the lead at Stamford Bridge on […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Senegal chose Liverpool star Sadio Mane Wednesday for World Cup qualifiers against South Africa next month just eight days after his club said he could be sidelined for six weeks. The striker was among 25 players named by coach Aliou Cisse for crucial back-to-back fixtures with South Africa. "Sadio Mane has resumed […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus rallied from a bizarre Alex Sandro own goal to battle past Sporting Lisbon 2-1 on Wednesday and move second behind Barcelona in Champions League Group D. The Portuguese visitors surged ahead after 12 minutes in the Allianz Stadium when the ball accidentally bounced off the Brazilian left-back and into his […]

Paris (AFP) – Chelsea were grateful to Eden Hazard for grabbing a 3-3 draw in a Champions League thriller against Roma on Wednesday, while Manchester United, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus all won. Hazard headed in his second goal of the night from a Pedro Rodriguez cross with quarter of an hour left […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona shrugged off an early Gerard Pique red card and the distractions of a first match at the Camp Nou since a violent crackdown of an independence referendum in Catalonia to beat Olympiakos 3-1 on Wednesday. A Dimitrios Nikolaou own goal and second-half strikes from Lionel Messi and Lucas Digne ensured a […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Jupp Heynckes enjoyed a successful Champions League return on Wednesday as Bayern Munich got their Group B campaign back on track with a 3-0 home win against Celtic. Bayern captain Thomas Mueller put the hosts ahead after 17 minutes before Germany defender Joshua Kimmich made it two with a header just […]

Brussels (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain's front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani all scored as the French side romped to a third straight Champions League win by thrashing Anderlecht 4-0 in Brussels on Wednesday. Mbappe put PSG ahead inside three minutes and Cavani grabbed his fourth goal in three Champions League outings before […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Manchester United took a huge stride towards the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday, seeing off an uninspired Benfica 1-0 to make it three wins out of three thanks to a goalkeeping howler. Marcus Rashford broke the deadlock midway through the second half when an inswinging free-kick from the left was carried […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona shrugged off an early Gerard Pique red card and the distractions of a first match at the Camp Nou since a violent crackdown of an independence referendum in Catalonia to beat Olympiakos 3-1 on Wednesday. A Dimitrios Nikolaou own goal and second-half strikes from Lionel Messi and Lucas Digne ensured a […]

London (AFP) – Eden Hazard came to Chelsea's rescue after his side blew a two-goal lead in a dramatic 3-3 draw with Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday. Antonio Conte's team looked on course for a comfortable victory at Stamford Bridge thanks to first half goals from David Luiz and Hazard at Stamford Bridge. […]