Paris (AFP) – Kylian Mbappe underlined why he is seen as a future Ballon d'Or winner with his midweek Champions League hat-trick for Paris Saint-Germain against Barcelona, but Sunday's opponents Monaco hardly needed any warning about the threat posed by the electrifying striker. Monaco head to the Parc des Princes not as lambs to the […]

London (AFP) – The San Francisco 49ers have a "blueprint" to share with Leeds United on how to revive a storied club, says Paraag Marathe — a man with a foot in both camps. Marathe is the new vice-chairman at Elland Road after the NFL franchise increased its stake in the three-time English champions to […]

Milan (AFP) – AC Milan and city rivals Inter renew their duel for top spot in Serie A on Sunday in a third clash this season between star strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku as champions Juventus play catch-up. Antonio Conte's Inter went top after Lukaku scored twice in a 3-1 win over Lazio, one […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid's best player for the last three months is 35 years old and out of contract in the summer. Luka Modric has perhaps been Real Madrid's best player this season, as well as being voted player of the month by the club's fans for November, December and January. He could deservedly […]

London (AFP) – As Manchester City power towards the Premier League title, the question is not whether Arsenal can stall the leaders, but is this Pep Guardiola's finest achievement in his Etihad reign? Liverpool were expected to push City all the way but the champions have stumbled so badly that their only concern going into […]

Prague (AFP) – Leicester were held to a goalless draw at Slavia Prague in their Europa League last 32, first leg game behind closed doors on Thursday. Leicester, who are third in the Premier League, dominated the first half on a chilly night, but reigning Czech champions Slavia looked more dangerous after the break. "It's […]

Paris (AFP) – Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Manchester United romped to a 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad in their Europa League last-32 first leg on Thursday, while Gareth Bale impressed for Tottenham in a 4-1 thrashing of Austrian side Wolfsberg. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United are all but into the last 16, with four 'away' […]

Prague (AFP) – Leicester were held to a goalless draw at Slavia Prague in their Europa League last 32, first leg game behind closed doors on Thursday. Leicester, who are third in the Premier League, dominated the first half on a chilly night, but reigning Czech champions Slavia looked more dangerous after the break. The […]

Vienna (AFP) – Mali footballers Mohamed Camara and Sekou Koita were handed three-month doping suspensions on Thursday after taking altitude sickness medicine while on international duty, their Austrian club announced. Salzburg said the pair were positive for a banned substance in a UEFA drugs test carried out on November 22 last year. "Mohamed Camara and […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was on Thursday fined 5,000 euros ($6,000) by the Italian Football Federation for blasphemy. The 43-year-old Italian World Cup winner, who escaped a ban for the offence, was overheard using a "blasphemous expression" towards teammate Manolo Portanova during Juve's 4-0 league win over Parma on December 19. Buffon, […]

London (AFP) – Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has become English football's youngest chairman after the 23-year-old completed his takeover of League One side Sunderland on Thursday. The Frenchman, the son of late Marseille owner and billionaire Robert Louis-Dreyfus, sealed the deal after being granted approval from the English Football League. Louis-Dreyfus originally agreed to purchase a controlling […]

Al-Ram (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – When Hanine Abu Mariam first refereed a men's football match, she was overcome by fear, but her trepidation soon yielded to motivation to become a rare female Palestinian referee in international football. Wearing a neon yellow jersey with a Palestinian flag on her sleeve, Abu Mariam was recently running the […]

Milan (AFP) – Andrea Pirlo's Juventus were branded 'clueless and devoid of ideas' as their Champions League last 16 campaign stumbled midweek with a blundering 2-1 first leg defeat at Porto. Two quick-fire goals at the start of each half punished the Italian champions before Federico Chiesa rescued an away goal late with the second […]

Paris (AFP) – Erling Braut Haaland's phenomenal display in Borussia Dortmund's 3-2 Champions League win over Sevilla on Wednesday was inspired by what he had seen the night before. "I love the Champions League and when I saw Mbappe score the hat-trick yesterday I got free motivation, so thanks to him. It was a nice […]

London (AFP) – Fulham manager Scott Parker believes his relegation-threatened team can win "any game" as he plots a Premier League great escape, with fellow strugglers Sheffield United the next team in his sights. Fulham, West Brom and Sheffield United appeared to be cut adrift but a win on Saturday would take Parker's men to […]