Milan (AFP) – Mauro Icardi scored a hat-trick as Inter Milan kept pace with leaders Napoli with a 3-2 defeat of city rivals AC Milan in a fiery Serie A derby clash on Sunday. Inter skipper Icardi sealed victory from the spot in the final minute in front of 80,000 spectators at the San Siro […]

Madrid (AFP) – Valencia withstood a late onslaught from Real Betis to move up to second with an enthralling 6-3 win at the Benito Villamarin on Sunday. The visitors looked to be cruising to a fifth win in eight games this season as Geoffrey Kondogbia, Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo and Santi Mina fired them into a […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayer Leverkusen's poor start to the Bundesliga season continued on Sunday, as they twice threw away a lead to draw 2-2 with Wolfsburg. Dominant in the opening half an hour, Leverkusen finally broke the deadlock on 29 minutes. Lars Bender fired the ball in from close range to score his first goal […]

London (AFP) – Wayne Rooney came to Ronald Koeman's rescue as the Everton striker's last-gasp penalty salvaged a 1-1 draw at Brighton, while Manolo Gabbiadini's brace gave Southampton a 2-2 draw against Newcastle on Sunday. Everton boss Koeman was on the brink of another damaging defeat after Anthony Knockaert put Brighton ahead eight minutes from […]

London (AFP) – Wayne Rooney came to Ronald Koeman's rescue as the Everton striker's last-gasp penalty salvaged a 1-1 draw at Brighton on Sunday. Everton boss Koeman was on the brink of another damaging defeat after Anthony Knockaert put Brighton ahead eight minutes from full-time at the Amex Stadium. But Brighton captain Bruno was penalised […]

Sydney (AFP) – Australian football chiefs called for unity as the dates were confirmed for their World Cup play-off against Honduras, with the team rattled by reports coach Ange Postecoglou could quit. A brace from veteran striker Tim Cahill in a 2-1 win over Syria last week moved the Socceroos a step closer to a […]

Wellington (AFP) – New Zealand and Peru's intercontinental World Cup play-off will begin in Wellington on November 11 with an extended four-day break before the return match in Lima, according to dates released on Sunday. The two-legged play-off has been extended by a day to take into account the huge distance between the two countries. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Players and coaches of both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona hailed the atmosphere at Atletico's Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday as the thrills of a 1-1 draw drowned out fears the match would be overshadowed by political tension sweeping across Spain. Barca's previous match was played behind closed doors as a protest to a […]

Watford (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsene Wenger believes a "scandalous" penalty was the main reason why his Arsenal side ended up losing 2-1 at Watford on Saturday. The result lifted Marco Silva's Hornets into fourth place in the Premier League on a day when Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea also all dropped points. Arsenal led […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte admits Chelsea are going through a "difficult moment" after the Premier League champions crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat at lowly Crystal Palace. The loss left Conte's side nine points adrift of leaders Manchester City and the pain was compounded by a hamstring injury to Victor Moses that will rule […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp pointed the finger of blame at each other after their teams' much-anticipated showdown ended in a forgettable 0-0 draw. Having averaged 3.2 goals per game prior to Saturday's game, United changed tack for the trip to Anfield, producing an extremely cautious display […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino has called on his Tottenham side to kick on at Wembley after finally breaking their Premier League hoodoo at their temporary home. Christian Eriksen's goal shortly after half-time ensured Spurs beat Bournemouth 1-0 for their first home league win of the season at their fourth attempt. The narrow victory keeps […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City produced the best performance of his reign in their swaggering 7-2 thrashing of Stoke City on Saturday. Kevin De Bruyne was outstanding, producing two assists and playing a part in three more goals as City scored seven goals for the first time since Guardiola took […]

Milan (AFP) – Ciro Immobile's second-half brace for Lazio condemned Serie A champions Juventus to a first home defeat in over two years, a 2-1 loss on Saturday that allowed Napoli to pull clear by beating Roma 1-0. Paulo Dybala missed a late penalty as the Turin giants lost at home for the first time […]

Madrid (AFP) – Luis Suarez saved Barcelona's unbeaten La Liga record this season by salvaging a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid on Saturday in a match laced with political tension amid Catalonia's drive for independence. Saul Niguez's spectacular strike had given Atletico an early advantage. However, Barca's dominance for large spells paid off when Suarez […]