Porto (Portugal) (AFP) – A self-confessed admirer of Pep Guardiola, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel got the better of his mentor as the Blues kept Manchester City waiting for Champions League glory by winning Saturday's final 1-0. Victory in Porto rounded off a rollercoaster five months for the German, who was sacked by Paris Saint-Germain on […]

Porto (Portugal) (AFP) – Chelsea won the Champions League for the second time as a Kai Havertz goal secured a tense 1-0 victory over Manchester City in Saturday's final in Porto, shattering Pep Guardiola's dream of lifting the trophy for the third time, a decade on from his last triumph. Havertz rounded Ederson to score […]

Berlin (AFP) – Swedish striker Sebastian Andersson struck twice in a chaotic first half to help Cologne avoid relegation from the Bundesliga with a 5-1 win over second-tier side Holstein Kiel on Saturday. Andersson, a marquee signing last summer who had been injured for much of the season, stepped up in the second leg of […]

Porto (Portugal) (AFP) – Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola made the bold call to drop both his recognised holding midfielders for Saturday's Champions League final against Chelsea. Raheem Sterling returns to the City starting line-up with Ilkay Gundogan forced into a deeper role in midfield in the absence of Fernandinho and Rodrigo. Sterling has been […]

Berlin (AFP) – Swedish striker Sebastian Andersson struck twice in a chaotic first half to help FC Cologne avoid relegation from the Bundesliga with a 5-1 win over second-tier side Holstein Kiel on Saturday. Andersson, a marquee signing last summer who had been injured for much of the season, stepped up in the second-leg of […]

London (AFP) – Brentford were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 74 years on Saturday as they beat Swansea 2-0 in a Championship play-off final worth around £180 million ($255 million) to the winners. Thomas Frank's side completed their fairytale rise thanks to first-half goals from Ivan Toney and Emiliano Marcondes […]

Madesimo (Italy) (AFP) – Egan Bernal retained a two minutes lead in the Giro d'Italia on Saturday when he followed stage 20 winner Damiano Caruso across the Alpe Motta summit finish line. Caruso tightened his grip on second place in the overall standings but Ineos leader Bernal has a big enough lead to go into […]

Prague (AFP) – The Czech national football team said Saturday it would set up its Euro 2020 base camp in Prague, not in Edinburgh as planned, because of strict coronavirus rules in Scotland. The Czech FA said that in case of a positive Covid-19 test in the team, Scottish authorities want the entire team to […]

Rome (AFP) – Former Roma and Inter Milan boss Luciano Spalletti was on Saturday named as Napoli's new coach. "Welcome Luciano, together we will do a great job," the Serie A club's president Aurelio De Laurentiis posted on twitter. He succeeds Gennaro Gattuso, who left after failing to qualify Napoli for the Champions League. The […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – The interrogation of a medical team under formal investigation for manslaughter over the death of footballing legend Diego Maradona in Argentina last year has been delayed until June 14, AFP sources said Friday. The seven members of Maradona's medical team were due to be questioned by investigating judges on Monday, who […]

Porto (Portugal) (AFP) – A season marked by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the shockwaves of the failed attempt to create a breakaway Super League reaches its climax on Saturday, when Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea clash in an-all English Champions League final in Porto. The finalists were among the […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Major League Soccer handed David Beckham's Inter Miami a league-record $2 million fine on Friday for violating roster and salary rules in its signing of French international Blaise Matuidi. Managing owner Jorge Mas was also fined $250,000 and the club's former chief operating officer and sporting director Paul McDonough has been […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – A large majority of people in Argentina, where football is like a religion, are against hosting the Copa America amid a deadly surge in the coronavirus pandemic, poll results said Friday. The South American championship, already postponed from last year due to the outbreak, last week lost a co-host in Colombia […]

Cagliari (Italy) (AFP) – Italy began their Euro 2020 preparations in simple style on Friday as a second-string team hammered minnows San Marino 7-0. Roberto Mancini's revived side are one of the dark horses for this summer's delayed European Championship and had a predictably easy time against their lowly neighbours. An experimental line-up went for […]

Doha (AFP) – Mohamed Sherif and Salah Mohsen scored in the second half to give Al Ahly of Egypt a 2-0 win over Renaissance Berkane of Morocco in the CAF Super Cup match on Friday, and a 21st African title. Forward Sherif finished off a sweeping passing move by hammering a left-foot shot past goalkeeper […]