Berlin (AFP) – Germany winger Serge Gnabry remains doubtful for Bayern Munich ahead of Friday's Bundesliga clash at Borussia Moenchengladbach where head coach Hansi Flick can join Pep Guardiola as the quickest to claim 100 league points with the European champions. Gnabry took a painful blow to the shin in last Sunday's 5-2 win at […]

London (AFP) – Aston Villa were forced to close their training ground on Thursday after two rounds of testing returned multiple positive cases of coronavirus among players and staff. "A large number of first team players and staff returned positive tests after being routinely tested on Monday and immediately went into isolation," Villa said in […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool are unlikely to bolster their injury-hit defence this month due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, manager Jurgen Klopp revealed on Thursday. The English champions are expected to be without Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez for the rest of the season, while Joel Matip is also currently […]

London (AFP) – Southampton's FA Cup home tie against League One Shrewsbury Town this weekend is off after a number of positive coronavirus tests in the visiting camp, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. Saints said they had received confirmation from the Football Association after a number of players and staff at third-tier Shrewsbury […]

London (AFP) – Paul Pogba says Manchester United are on the right track but they must learn from a series of disappointing semi-final defeats if they are to return to winning trophies. For the fourth time in the past two seasons, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men were eliminated from a cup competition in the last four […]

Milan (AFP) – Italian club Parma have sacked coach Fabio Liverani, the Serie A strugglers confirmed on Thursday. Parma dropped to 18th position into the relegation zone after their fourth consecutive defeat 3-0 against Atalanta midweek. "Parma Calcio 1913 can confirm that Fabio Liverani has been relieved of his duties as coach of the first […]

Paris (AFP) – Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema is to face trial for attempted blackmail in a case linked to a sex tape featuring his former France teammate Mathieu Valbuena, French prosecutors said Thursday. Benzema, 33, who has not been selected for his country since the affair came to light in 2015, is accused of […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he is open to Mesut Ozil leaving the Gunners this month afer freezing the German playmaker out of his squad this season. Despite reportedly being the highest earner at the club, Ozil has not featured since a 1-0 win over West Ham on March 7. The 32-year-old […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Ivorian Souleymane Coulibaly starred as Etoile Sahel of Tunisia edged Al Mokawloon Al Arab of Egypt in the major CAF Confederation Cup last 32 attraction. Etoile won the second leg, and the tie, 2-1 with Coulibaly breaking the deadlock, then converting a late penalty after Seifeddine Jaziri had equalised. A west […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Three-time former champions Raja Casablanca of Morocco were knocked out of the CAF Champions League by debutants Teungueth of Senegal in the biggest CAF Champions League last 32 shock. Both legs in the elite African club competition finished 0-0 and Teungueth won 3-1 on penalties in Casablanca to become the first […]

London (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal team-mates may be surprised to learn the video and data analysis their coaches use was devised by scientists who used it to track the behaviour of mice, monkeys and human eye movements. Ruben Saavedra, the Spanish CEO of Metrica Sports, says it is not a stretch to […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Argentina's Boca Juniors and Santos of Brazil played out a tense 0-0 draw at an empty Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires on Wednesday in their Copa Libertadores semi-final first leg tie. Boca's Colombian forward Sebastian Villa came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half but struck the woodwork. The […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ronald Koeman said Barcelona can still win La Liga after Lionel Messi scored twice on Wednesday in a 3-2 win over Athletic Bilbao. Messi's double helped Barca reduce the gap behind La Liga's leaders Atletico Madrid to seven points, even if Atletico will be hard to catch, given they also have two […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola dedicated Manchester City's 2-0 win over Manchester United to reach a fourth consecutive League Cup final on Wednesday to the family of Colin Bell, a day after the City great died aged 74. John Stones and Fernandinho were the unlikely goalscorers for Guardiola's men, who will face Jose […]

Paris (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino's first match as Paris Saint-Germain coach ended in a 1-1 draw at Saint-Etienne on Wednesday as his new team slipped three points behind Ligue 1 leaders Lyon. The defending league champions fell behind early on to Romain Hamouma's strike before Moise Kean levelled soon after, but laboured in the second […]