Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich host in-form Freiburg on Sunday under pressure to bounce back from consecutive defeats including their shock midweek German Cup exit. Freiburg are on a club record five-game winning streak in the league while Bayern are licking their wounds after crashing out of the German Cup to second-division Holstein […]

Montreal (AFP) – Montreal Impact officially unveiled its new identity on Thursday, relaunching the Major League Soccer franchise as Club de Foot Montreal with a new logo and a tweak to team colours. The club, which joined MLS in 2012 after nearly two decades in junior divisions of professional soccer in North America, will now […]

London (AFP) – Marcus Rashford said Thursday that former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho had helped him become a more "savvy" striker in terms of winning penalties. Following Premier League champions Liverpool's 1-0 defeat by Southampton earlier this month, a match where striker Sadio Mane was denied a spot-kick, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp said United […]

London (AFP) – Frank Lampard has revealed he will tell his Chelsea stars not to celebrate in training amid fears group hugs could spread the coronavirus. Premier League chiefs have warned players to halt celebrations to comply with strict Covid-19 protocols following the virus spike in Britain. Chelsea manager Lampard believes players will have to […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid suffered a shock defeat in the Spanish Super Cup on Thursday as Athletic Bilbao pulled off a 2-1 victory in Malaga to reach Sunday's final against Barcelona. Raul Garcia scored twice in the first half, the second a penalty, and while Karim Benzema pulled one back for the defending champions, […]

London (AFP) – Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal were suffering from fatigue after their recent revival ground to a halt in a scrappy 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace on Thursday. Arteta's side had won their previous four matches in all competitions, but they were fortunate extend their unbeaten run to five games. Palace were unable to […]

Miami (AFP) – Guadalajara will host the CONCACAF men's qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics March 18-30, football's governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean said Thursday. The tournament was originally scheduled for March of 2020, but called off because of the coronavirus pandemic that eventually saw the 2020 Tokyo Games pushed […]

London (AFP) – West Brom boss Sam Allardyce on Thursday led Premier League managers in questioning the need for new coronavirus guidelines over goal celebrations. The Premier League have issued the new celebration edict to clubs in a bid limit the virus spread at a time when Covid-19 cases are spiking in Britain. There have […]

Milan (AFP) – Serie B side SPAL shocked top-flight Sassuolo 2-0 on Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup where they next take on Juventus. SPAL are the only remaining Serie B side left in the competition after holders Napoli beat second-division leaders Empoli 3-2 on Wednesday. In the clash between two […]

London (AFP) – Danny Ings could miss Southampton's match away to Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday after the striker recently tested positive for the coronavirus. Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said Thursday that England international Ings had tested positive for Covid-19 following the 1-0 Premier League win over Liverpool and had been self-isolating. If […]

Bogota (AFP) – Reinaldo Rueda was appointed as Colombia coach on Thursday with the task of reviving a floundering World Cup qualifying campaign after Carlos Queiroz was fired in December. Colombia are seventh in the race to qualify for the 2022 World Cup from the 10-team South America group, after four of the 18 rounds […]

Lausanne (AFP) – UEFA is not planning any imminent changes to the format for the upcoming Champions League knockout stages or to its plans to hold the delayed Euro 2020 this year despite ongoing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and other sporting events being cancelled. "As far as the Euro is concerned nothing has changed," […]

Berlin (AFP) – Following Matthew Hoppe's "fairytale" hat-trick for Schalke last weekend, US-based former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann says the Bundesliga is the "place to be" for young American talent. Hoppe, 19, netted a hat-trick on only his fifth Bundesliga appearance in Schalke's 4-0 drubbing of Hoffenheim, which ended the Royal Blues' miserable run of […]

London (AFP) – Marcelo Bielsa said he would study how Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid react to humiliating cup defeats as he attempts to lift Leeds following their shock FA Cup loss at fourth-tier Crawley Town. Bielsa, whose side host struggling Brighton on Saturday, accepted it was natural to describe the 3-0 defeat in the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick insists the European champions learn from their earliest German Cup exit for 20 years after second division side Holstein Kiel ended their dreams of repeating last season's treble. "We are extremely disappointed, we wanted to defend the treble," said Flick after Bayern were knocked out of a […]