Paris (AFP) – Marseille suffered their first defeat under Jorge Sampaoli with a 3-0 loss at Nice on Saturday, while Bruno Genesio's Rennes made it back-to-back wins by beating Metz. OM had climbed into the European places after two straight victories, but slipped to sixth, below Lens on goal difference, after a poor performance at […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich did a U-turn Saturday and said both Robert Lewandowski and David Alaba will be released for international duty next week due to a change in Germany's Covid-19 travel restrictions. "We gave the go-ahead for both players," said Bayern coach Hansi Flick after the Bundesliga leader's 4-0 thrashing of Stuttgart. Lewandowski, […]

Madrid (AFP) – Karim Benzema scored twice as Real Madrid hung on for a 3-1 victory over Celta Vigo on Saturday, reducing the gap to three points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid. Benzema continued his scintillating form at Balaidos by making it 10 goals in 10 games, in the same week Zinedine Zidane admitted […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo insisted Saturday he was happy to continue next season with Cristiano Ronaldo whose contract expires in 2022. The Portuguese forward's future has been under scrutiny after Juventus crashed out of the Champions League in the last 16 for the second consecutive season. "For now we have not thought […]

Berlin (AFP) – Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick on Saturday as Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 home win over Stuttgart despite having Alphonso Davies sent off in the 12th minute. The result keeps Bayern four points clear at the top after second-placed RB Leipzig won 1-0 at Arminia Bielefeld on Friday. Lewandowski has now […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino says Neymar will return after five weeks out injured against Lyon in Ligue 1 on Sunday. The Brazilian was ruled out of both legs of PSG's Champions League last-16 tie against his former club Barcelona, and hasn't played since sustaining a thigh injury on February 10 in […]

London (AFP) – Southampton cast aside their Premier League struggles to reach the FA Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 win at Bournemouth, while quadruple chasers Manchester City prepared to face Everton on Saturday. Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have slumped into the Premier League relegation battle after losing 10 of their last 12 top-flight matches. But Southampton […]

London (AFP) – Peter Lorimer, Leeds United's record goalscorer and a key player in the great side managed by Don Revie, has died aged 74, the club announced on Saturday. The Scotland international midfielder known as 'Hotshot Lorimer' scored 238 goals in 705 appearances for Leeds over two spells spanning 23 years. Along with the […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola insists he has no regrets over Jadon Sancho's decision to quit Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund. Sancho graduated from City's youth academy system as one of the brightest young stars in Europe. But he opted to leave the Premier League club for Dortmund in 2017 over fears City's collection of […]

Paris (AFP) – Monaco rebooted their title hopes, moving to within four points of Ligue 1 leaders Lille after a 4-0 win at Saint-Etienne on Friday. Stevan Jovetic's first-half strike was followed by second-half goals from Aurelien Tchouameni, Sofiane Diop and Krepin Diatta which closed out a comfortable win for Niko Kovac's men who had […]

London (AFP) – Fulham's bid for Premier League survival suffered a major blow as Raphinha sealed Leeds a 2-1 win at Craven Cottage on Friday. Scott Parker's side would have climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time since December 20 if they had managed a rare home victory. But Patrick Bamford put […]

Berlin (AFP) – Marcel Sabitzer netted a second-half winner as RB Leipzig beat Arminia Bielefeld on Friday to keep the pressure on Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich ahead of their top-of-the-table clash. Second-placed Leipzig moved within a point of Bayern, who play Stuttgart on Saturday, and next face the reigning champions in the league on April […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Slavia Prague said they had filed a criminal complaint on Friday over an "attack" on Ondrej Kudela after Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara alleged the defender racially abused him in a Europa League match. Steven Gerrard's Scottish champions crashed out at the last-16 stage of the competition after a 2-0 loss to the […]

Rome (AFP) – Atalanta captain Rafael Toloi was called up by Italy coach Roberto Mancini on Friday for their upcoming 2022 World Cup qualifiers, after switching his international allegiance from Brazil. The 30-year-old defender previously played for Brazil's youth team but never for the senior side and gained Italian citizenship last month. Mancini named a […]

Brussels (AFP) – Belgium coach Roberto Martinez included Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku in the squad for World Cup qualifiers later this month on Friday despite a coronavirus outbreak at the striker's club. Inter's game with Sassuolo on Saturday has been postponed after four players tested positive for Covid-19. Belgium host Wales on March 24 and […]