London (AFP) – Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso has warned the leaders to beware of a Manchester United backlash, while Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham can provide a dramatic finale to the title race. With just seven games remaining, Chelsea are looking to land the knockout blow as they slug it out with second placed Tottenham in […]

Lyon (AFP) – Fans poured onto the pitch at the Europa League clash between Lyon and Besiktas on Thursday, delaying the start of a violence-hit, high-risk match as European football suffered another body blow. The 1905 GMT start of the quarter-final first leg was delayed by 45 minutes as officials attempted to clear the Parc […]

Brussels (AFP) – Leander Dendoncker struck late to snatch a 1-1 draw for Anderlecht against Manchester United in the first leg of Thursday's Europa League quarter-final, while crowd trouble overshadowed Lyon's tie with Besiktas. Belgian international midfielder Dendoncker rose to majestically power home a header from Ivan Obradovic's cross four minutes from time and cancel […]

Paris (AFP) – Former French international striker Djibril Cisse revealed Thursday that he had been placed under formal investigation as part of the ongoing probe into a sex tape blackmail case, his lawyer said. However, his legal team shrugged off the latest development, describing it as "a non-event". "On February 24, 2017, Mr Djibril Cisse […]

Milan (AFP) – The coveted Christmas holidays of Serie A players and officials went off the 2017-2018 menu Thursday as league officials made changes to the calendar that left Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura with indigestion. Serie A usually stops days before Christmas and resumes on the first weekend of the New Year, allowing players […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – United States coach Bruce Arena believes the American national team would be genuine challengers for the 2026 World Cup if the country makes a successful bid to host the tournament. The United States, Canada and Mexico on Monday announced a joint bid to stage the 2026 finals, with the bulk of […]

Lyon (AFP) – Fans poured onto the pitch at the Europa League clash between Lyon and Besiktas on Thursday, delaying the start of a match already hit by fan violence in the run-up to kick-off. The start of the quarter-final first leg was delayed as officials attempted to clear the Parc OL playing area of […]

Madrid (AFP) – Eight Leicester City supporters were handed four-month suspended prison terms on Thursday after fighting and violence marred their team's Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid. Madrid prosecutors said that the cases had been quickly dealt with as a result of the fans involved admitting the charges in exchange for a more lenient […]

Lyon (AFP) – Turkish fans clashed with security forces in Lyon ahead of Thursday's Europa League quarter-final at Parc OL and left a steward injured, an AFP photographer at the ground reported. "The Turkish supporters charged at a steward and injured him," the source said. "The supporters are waving big Turkish flags." Trouble also erupted […]

Milan (AFP) – Media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi expressed sadness Thursday at selling AC Milan after 31 years in charge and called on the Serie A giants' new Chinese owners to surpass his stunning 29-trophy haul. Milan, who won five of their seven Champions League titles during Berlusconi's reign, were sold to Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – The new president of the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) flew to Barcelona on Thursday to meet Lionel Messi but ruled out any possibility of an encounter with Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli. "The only object of my trip is to see Messi. As for the new coach, we are relaxed about that […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel stressed Borussia Dortmund must try to overcome Tuesday's bomb attack on the German team's bus, but admitted it was still "incredibly difficult" to speak about the ordeal. "We must find a way of overcoming that. But we still don't know how that's going to happen," the Dortmund coach said […]

Milan (AFP) – In typically dramatic fashion, Silvio Berlusconi began his AC Milan reign by flying in by helicopter to the sound of Wagner's 'Valkyries' when he met 10,000 fans at a first team presentation in July 1986. On Thursday, there was less pomp but plenty of room for nostalgia as the 80-year-old former cruiseship […]

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan will host AC Milan Saturday in the first 'all-Chinese' city derby after the latter was officially taken over by the Chinese-led consortium Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux on Thursday. In a deal worth 740 million euros ($786 million), the Chinese consortium's takeover brings an end to Silvio Berlusconi's 31-year reign at […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he feared for his former Borussia Dortmund players' safety after the bomb attack on their team bus. Three explosions went off as the Dortmund team made their way to their Signal Iduna Park stadium for the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Monaco on Tuesday. Klopp spent […]