London (AFP) – Alexis Sanchez earned Arsenal an FA Cup final showdown with Chelsea and gave Arsene Wenger renewed hope of salvaging a troubled campaign as the gritty Gunners fought back to beat Manchester City 2-1 on Sunday. When Sergio Aguero put City ahead in the second half of a bruising semi-final, Wenger's side were […]

Berlin (AFP) – Unfancied Freiburg continued their dream run to a place in Europe next season with a shock 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday in the Bundesliga. The result puts Freiburg, last season's second division champions, back up into sixth place, which carries a Europa League berth next season, with four games left. […]

Milan (AFP) – A Keita Balde five-minute hat-trick in a 6-2 romp over Palermo boosted Lazio's Europa League hopes Sunday as AC Milan edged further away from Europe with a shock 2-1 home defeat to Empoli. Inspired by Atalanta's 3-2 win over Bologna that pushed the high-flying Bergamo side up to fourth, Lazio responded to […]

Burnley (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial scored on their returns to the side as Manchester United improved their hopes of a top-four Premier League finish with a 2-0 win at Burnley on Sunday. The convincing victory — United made light of the season-ending injury to top-scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic — sets up […]

Glasgow (AFP) – A second-half penalty by Scott Sinclair sealed a 2-0 win for champions Celtic over bitter rivals Rangers and a place in the Scottish Cup final on Sunday. Sinclair's penalty and a first-half effort by Callum McGregor set them up with a May 27 date with Aberdeen — who beat holders Hibs 3-2 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona will not risk calling up star forward Neymar for the potential title decider with Real Madrid, the Spanish champions said on Sunday, just hours before El Clasico. The loss of the suspended Brazilian forward deals a big blow to Barcelona's hopes of denying their fierce rivals a first La Liga crown […]

London (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic's magical season with Manchester United appears over after the club announced he had suffered a serious knee injury in Thursday's Europa League clash with Anderlecht. The club revealed that both the 35-year-old Swedish striker and Argentinian defender Marcos Rojo had suffered knee injuries in the same match. "Detailed investigations on […]

Bangkok (AFP) – Former Thai football chief Worawi Makudi has vowed to push FIFA to lift its ban on him after an appeals court in Bangkok overturned his conviction for forgery. Worawi, who had a long and tumultuous tenure in charge of Thai football, was banned for five years by FIFA last year following his […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte claims Chelsea have been harshly treated by the Premier League fixture planners as the leaders try to survive a "crucial week" in the title race. Conte's side beat Tottenham 4-2 in a thrilling FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday to book a final date with Arsenal or Manchester City. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Neymar looks set to travel with the Barcelona squad for Sunday's El Clasico against Real Madrid as the Catalans continue to fight his suspension for the potentially title-deciding clash. The Brazilian is in the midst of a three-game suspension for his red card and subsequent sarcastic applause of the officials in Barca's […]

London (AFP) – Ronald Koeman admitted he would have made ten substitutions at half-time after his Everton side failed to secure the win at West Ham United that would have moved them up to fifth in the Premier League table. With sixth-placed Arsenal on FA Cup duty and Manchester United, who lie fifth, not due […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – New Zealander Jeremy Brockie was the key figure as South African FA Cup title-holders SuperSport United beat Kaizer Chiefs on penalties in Soweto Saturday to reach the semi-finals. The 29-year-old former international striker put United ahead in a 1-1 draw after extra time and converted the decisive spot-kick in a 5-3 shootout […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola insists he will be judged by the same standards as his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini as he comes to the end of his first season in charge of Manchester City. Pellegrini guided City to the League Cup, fourth place in the Premier League and the semi-finals of the Champions […]

Milan (AFP) – Mauro Icardi hit a dramatic late brace to complete his hat-trick but Inter Milan's Europa League hopes were dented in a dramatic nine-goal thriller that saw Fiorentina prevail 5-4 in Florence on Saturday. Inter travelled to the Artemio Franchi already six points behind Lazio, who occupy fifth position in Serie A and […]

Madrid (AFP) – Antoine Griezmann was Atletico Madrid's hero once more as he struck 17 minutes from time to snatch a 1-0 win away to Espanyol on Saturday. Atletico were outplayed for large spells and were also thankful to goalkeeper Jan Oblak as he made a brilliant save to deny Leo Baptistao salvaging a point […]