Madrid (AFP) – Alaves sacked Argentine coach Luis Zubeldia after just four games in charge as they slipped to the bottom of La Liga with a 3-0 defeat at home to Villarreal on Sunday. "Deportivo Alaves has decided to sack the coach after the results obtained at the beginning of the 2017/18 season," Alaves said […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus and Napoli bounced back from European disappointment to keep their Serie A perfect records and join Inter Milan at the top of the table on Sunday. A Paulo Dybala hat-trick lifted Juventus to a 3-1 victory at Sassuolo making it four wins out of four for the champions, as Dries Mertens […]

Paris (AFP) – Marseille pulled out of an early season slump on Sunday when a Clinton Njie brace gave the ambitious southerners a 2-0 win at Amiens in Ligue 1. Under new ownership with a bevvy of new signings Rudi Garcia's side were thrashed 6-1 at Monaco two weeks ago followed by an embarrassing 3-1 […]

London (AFP) – Sergio Aguero's sixth Premier League hat-trick in the 6-0 demolition of Watford drew unstinting praise from his Manchester City team-mates on Sunday. The 29-year-old Argentinian — who needs just three goals to become Manchester City's all-time leading scorer and replace Eric Brook who has held the record of 177 since 1939 — […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spanish international right-back Dani Carvajal tied his future to Real Madrid by extending his contract until 2022, the club confirmed on Sunday. Carvajal, 25, becomes the third Madrid player to sign on until 2022 this week after vice-captain Marcelo and Isco also penned contract extensions. "Real Madrid and Dani Carvajal have agreed […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea defender David Luiz was sent off for an ugly foul on Sead Kolasinac as Arsenal finally emerged unscathed from a trip to Chelsea with a 0-0 draw against the champions on Sunday. The Brazilian saw red in the closing minutes at Stamford Bridge and he could have no complaints about his […]

Berlin (AFP) – Hanover 96 remain top of the Bundesliga after Hoffenheim were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Hertha Berlin on Sunday after Sandro Wagner's early header was cancelled out. In the first ever Bundesliga match to kick off at 1:30pm local time (1130 GMT), Germany striker Wagner powered home a header […]

Milan (AFP) – A Paulo Dybala hat-trick lifted Juventus back to the summit of Serie A alongside Inter Milan with a 3-1 victory at Sassuolo on Sunday making it four wins out of four for the champions. The Argentina forward left the pitch ten minutes from the end to a standing ovation from the crowd […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona's record 105 million-euro ($125 million) signing Ousmane Dembele is set to be sidelined for up to four months as the club confirmed the extent of the hamstring injury he suffered at Getafe on Saturday. "The tests performed on first team player Ousmane Dembele have determined he has ruptured the tendon of the […]

London (AFP) – Harry Redknapp believes his sacking as manager of second-tier Birmingham City will finally bring the curtain down on his long career. The 70-year-old Englishman — who numbers Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth among the clubs he has managed — left his post after just 13 games in charge following Saturday's 3-1 home defeat […]

London (AFP) – French international Paul Pogba could be out of action for three months, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday, dealing a huge blow to Manchester United. The hamstring injury suffered by the 24-year-old — an £89.3 million ($121 million, 105 million euros) signing from Juventus last year — after just 18 minutes in […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Shanghai Shenhua's new coach compared his demoralised club to Manchester United after they were thrashed 6-1 at rivals Shanghai SIPG in China's biggest derby. Carlos Tevez climbed off the bench for the second half to score just his third Chinese Super League (CSL) goal, days after coach Wu Jingui said the forward […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Josef Martinez posted his second straight hat trick, but hosts Atlanta settled for a 3-3 draw with Orlando on Saturday that drew a Major League Soccer record crowd of 70,425. Atlanta, which made their debut in the league this season, were playing their third match in their new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which […]

Monaco (AFP) – Colombian striker Radamel Falcao is aiming to realise his "dream" of playing in a World Cup next year, after continuing his red-hot start to the Ligue 1 season for Monaco on Saturday. The 31-year-old scored a brace in the French champions' 3-0 win over Strasbourg to make it nine goals in just […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp admitted his Liverpool side must improve defensively after more problems at the back cost them two home points in a 1-1 Premier League draw with Burnley. Liverpool dominated against Sean Dyche's team but had to come from behind with Mohamed Salah rescuing a point for Klopp after mistakes had gifted […]