London (AFP) – Aston Villa winger Trezeguet requires knee surgery after suffering an injury at the weekend, the Premier League club said Monday The Egypt attacker was forced off late in Saturday's defeat at Liverpool and a Villa statement said: "Trezeguet will now have an operation before starting his rehabilitation. "Everyone at Aston Villa wishes […]

Rome (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic was again in the headlines for non-football reasons on Monday after he was reportedly pictured in a Milan restaurant while the city was in a coronavirus lockdown. Italian news website Fanpage published photos it says were taken at lunchtime on Sunday of the AC Milan forward with friends, all without […]

Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel said on Monday that he came to Chelsea to immediately win titles as the Blues aim to take big steps toward Champions League and FA Cup success this week. Tuchel's men take a 2-0 lead into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, second leg, against Porto on […]

London (AFP) – Wolves' Premier League match against Sheffield United has been moved "as a mark of respect" to avoid a clash with the funeral of Prince Philip on Saturday. Prince Philip's funeral is due to begin at 1400GMT, and a national minute's silence will be held at that time. Wolves' meeting with bottom-of-the-table United […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga high-fliers RB Leipzig confirmed Monday they have signed Monaco loanee Benjamin Henrichs on a permanent deal. Henrichs, 24, has spent 2020/21 on loan in Leipzig, but the German club has given him a contract until 2025 after he made his 15th appearance this season and set up a goal in Saturday's […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain may go into Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg at home to Bayern Munich without two of their most important players, with coach Mauricio Pochettino claiming that captain Marquinhos and playmaker Marco Verratti are unlikely to be fit enough to start. "We will see how Marquinhos feels tomorrow. He should […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich is convinced the holders can beat Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday in their Champions League quarter-final second leg to reach the last four. "I believe that we will progress, because we're the better team," Kimmich told the club's website. Bayern need to […]

Paris (AFP) – Real Madrid won the Clasico as the title race intensifies in La Liga, while Inter march towards the Scudetto but Bayern Munich stumbled in Germany. AFP Sport rounds up some of the main talking points from across the continent: – A great few days for Zidane – Real Madrid followed their 3-1 […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur are to take action after Korean star Son Heung-min was subjected to "abhorrent racist abuse" on social media following Sunday's 3-1 defeat by Manchester United. Son is the second Spurs player in as many matches to suffer such abuse following Davinson Sanchez after the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United on […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich's top-scorer Robert Lewandowski returned to training on Monday after a knee injury, but the club him ruled out of their Champions League quarter-final at Paris Saint-Germain. Bayern said Lewandowski "is not available" for Tuesday's second-leg in Paris. The holders need to overturn a 3-2 defeat after PSG striker Kylian Mbappe […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga strugglers Cologne on Monday appointed veteran Friedhelm Funkel as caretaker coach in a bid to avoid relegation this season after the sacking of Markus Gisdol. Gisdol was dismissed following Sunday's 3-2 home defeat by Mainz and Funkel, 67, has been tasked with keeping Cologne up in his second spell at the […]

Rome (AFP) – Italy needs more time from UEFA to decide how many fans can safely attend Euro 2020 matches in Rome, the Italian government's chief scientific advisor said on Monday. UEFA last week extended the deadline for the host countries to say how many fans they would host but at the same time it […]

London (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hailed Edinson Cavani's performance in Manchester United's 3-1 win over Tottenham and hopes he can persuade the striker to stay when his contract is up at the end of the season. The 34-year-old Uruguayan scored United's second goal with an excellent diving header in Sunday's come-from-behind victory and had […]

London (AFP) – Harshly derided as a "teacher's pet" earlier this season, Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount heads into Tuesday's Champions League showdown against Porto firmly established as Thomas Tuchel's star pupil. Despite an impressive rise to prominence over the last 18 months, Mount has had to endure jibes from critics who claimed he was only […]

Paris (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino has repeatedly said he needs time to put his mark on Paris Saint-Germain and it was always going to be a case of getting through the first few months unscathed. The Argentine was hired as the man to win the Champions League for the Qatar-owned club after predecessor Thomas Tuchel […]