London (AFP) – West Brom manager Steve Bruce insists he has not been scarred by his miserable spell at Newcastle as he sets his sights on promotion to the Premier League. Bruce was sacked by Newcastle in October following the arrival of the club's new Saudi-led owners. A boyhood Newcastle fan, Bruce's dream job had […]

Rome (AFP) – AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been ruled out of Saturday's crucial derby clash against Inter with an Achilles tendon problem, coach Stefano Pioli said. The 40-year-old Swede has not yet recovered from the right leg injury suffered in a goalless draw against Juventus on January 23, with Croatian forward Ante Rebic […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea defender Reece James will miss his side's Club World Cup campaign because he has not recovered from his "big" hamstring injury, manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed on Friday. The England international has been out of action since suffering the injury in Chelsea's 1-1 Premier League draw with Brighton at Stamford Bridge on December […]

Rome (AFP) – "Strange that a stadium supposed to host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics is already considered outdated and dead, isn't it?" asks Gianfelice Facchetti, son of Inter Milan legend Giacinto Facchetti, of the lack of debate surrounding the future of the iconic San Siro stadium. Local rivals Inter and AC […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte has passed scathing judgement on Tottenham's recent history in the transfer market, saying they made "big mistakes" they cannot afford to repeat after the club offloaded four high-profile players on transfer deadline day. Club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele, who cost £55 million ($74 million) in 2019, returned to Lyon on loan […]

Yaoundé (AFP) – Liverpool teammates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are getting ready to face off against each other in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cameroon this weekend after Egypt beat the hosts on penalties on Thursday to set up a clash with Senegal. Egyptian captain Salah did not need to step up […]

London (AFP) – Jesse Lingard has disputed Ralf Rangnick's claim that he requested time off to help clear his head after Manchester United blocked his move away from the club during the January transfer window. Newcastle, West Ham — where he excelled on loan last season — and Tottenham were among the suitors for the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Rejuvenation will be the reward for the winner of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid on Sunday as La Liga's two fallen giants seek a statement victory to hasten their return to the elite. Both clubs have endured the kind of turbulence this season that neither have faced for more than a decade but […]

Paris (AFP) – Tanguy Ndombele is set to make his second debut for Lyon this weekend after returning on loan following a frustrating spell at Tottenham, with the Ligue 1 club needing to replace the departed Bruno Guimaraes. Lyon visit Monaco on Saturday, hoping to kick on after beating rivals Marseille and enjoying a strong […]

Milan (AFP) – The San Siro awaits one of the biggest Milan derbies in years as champions Inter host their local rivals hoping to maintain a solid lead at the top of Serie A. Inter are four points ahead of Milan heading into Saturday evening's clash, which could be a turning point in Simone Inzaghi's […]

London (AFP) – Frank Lampard will take charge of Everton for the first time when Brentford visit Goodison Park in the FA Cup fourth round this weekend while West Ham face a tricky tie against non-league Kidderminster. Manchester United kick-off the round at home to Middlesbrough on Friday and Premier League leaders Manchester City face […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann will be reunited with his former car-pool pal Domenico Tedesco as the Bundesliga leaders look to maintain their grip on the top of the table against RB Leipzig on Saturday. "It's always special when you're up against your old club," said Nagelsmann, who coached Leipzig for two […]

Yaoundé (AFP) – Egypt called on Africa Cup of Nations organisers to delay this weekend's final against Senegal to give them more time to prepare after overcoming hosts Cameroon on penalties in Thursday's semi-final. "I want to state to all CAF authorities that Senegal have one extra day to train and therefore maybe we should […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid's hopes of clinching a Spanish domestic double were dashed on Thursday as Athletic Bilbao scored a dramatic 89th-minute winner to knock them out of the Copa del Rey. Alex Berenguer's scintillating strike after a Casemiro mistake was enough to seal a shock 1-0 victory at San Mames and send Athletic […]

Yaoundé (AFP) – Mohamed Salah's Egypt are through to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations after beating hosts Cameroon 3-1 on penalties at the end of a goalless 120 minutes in Yaounde on Thursday. Goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal was the hero for the Egyptians, saving from both Harold Moukoudi and James Lea-Siliki in […]