Madrid (AFP) – Bayern Munich's hopes of overturning a 2-1 Champions League quarter-final deficit at Real Madrid on Tuesday were boosted as key trio Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Robert Lewandowski were all named in Carlo Ancelotti's starting XI. Hummels and top scorer Lewandowski missed last week's first leg, whilst Boateng sat out Saturday's 0-0 […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Leicester City captain Wes Morgan came through a late fitness test to start in his side's Champions League quarter-final second leg at home to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Morgan missed Leicester's last six games due to a nerve problem in his back, but was passed fit to partner Yohan Benalouane, […]

Bastia (France) (AFP) – Bastia have closed the stand from which its fans twice invaded the pitch and attacked Lyon players in a French Ligue 1 match last weekend that was abandoned at half time. After legal complaints filed by two Lyon players on Monday the Corsican club closed the stand and promised to upgrade […]

Monaco (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel is confident his side will not be affected by last week's traumatic events when they meet Monaco in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. "We have put what happened behind us, emotionally we are stable and we are fully focused on the game," […]

Doha (AFP) – A senior Qatari official who recently overturned a one-year FIFA ban said on Tuesday the case against him was "political" and may stand again for the all-powerful FIFA Council. Saoud Al-Mohannadi, the Qatar Football Association's vice-president, was making his first public comments since winning his appeal against the ban, handed down by […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona will need to hit at least five goals past Juventus on Wednesday to produce another miracle Champions League comeback, but have nothing to lose according to outgoing coach Luis Enrique. The Catalans made Champions League history by overcoming a 4-0 first leg deficit to beat Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 in the last […]

Madrid (AFP) – Some 1,800 police officers will be deployed to the streets of the Spanish capital for Real Madrid's Champions League match against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, city hall said. The quarter-final second leg, which was declared "high risk" as is common for high profile Champions League games, comes after several European ties have […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United's Ashley Young insisted he still had "fire in my belly" after getting back into the first team at Old Trafford. The 31-year-old former England international has made just 13 starts for Jose Mourinho's men so far this season and was linked with a lucrative move to the Chinese Super League […]

Bandung (Indonesia) (AFP) – Indonesian authorities on Tuesday banned Michael Essien and Carlton Cole from playing until they get work permits after their new club did not obtain the necessary documents for the ex-English Premier League players. The two were signed with great fanfare last month by Persib Bandung, one of the country's best clubs, […]

London (AFP) – Veteran English manager Harry Redknapp said he had returned to football as the new boss of Championship strugglers Birmingham City on Tuesday because he was "fed up" with his time away from the sport. The 70-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur boss has replaced Gianfranco Zola, whose dismal four months in charge of second-tier […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Marc Bartra gave blood, other Borussia Dortmund players have nightmares about the bomb attack on their bus and now the German team may need the sweat of Marco Reus to pull off a fairy tale place in the Champions League last four. The scars left by three bombs that scorched the […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Diminutive, dynamic and armed with a deadly left foot, Paulo Dybala could be a prototype of a Lionel Messi clone. The similarities between the two Argentines, who face off in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg between Juventus and Barcelona, have been noted by Dybala's strike partner Gonzalo Higuain among others. The […]

Monaco (AFP) – There is just a year in age between them, neither had a distinguished playing career and both have been linked with moves to the Premier League, so Leonardo Jardim and Thomas Tuchel have plenty in common. They are two of Europe's most exciting younger coaches, but only one will take his team […]

London (AFP) – Tony Bloom is a feared presence at any poker table but on Monday the biggest wager of this renowned gambler, the £200 million investment in Brighton, paid off with their promotion to the Premier League. The Seagulls have truly taken flight rising to a level that 20 years ago would have been […]

Middlesbrough (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Beleaguered Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger challenged his players to win every game between now and the end of the season to keep alive faint hopes of a top-four Premier League finish. Seven league wins is the only way the Frenchman reckons that Arsenal can secure a Champions League place after […]