London (AFP) – Controversial former Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton has left his post as Fleetwood manager with "immediate effect", the League One club said on Monday. Barton guided Fleetwood to the League One play-offs last season, but his team lost to Wycombe in the semi-finals and failed to mount a strong promotion push this […]

London (AFP) – Footballers must be role models and stop flouting coronavirus rules, Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow warned on Monday. Villa captain Jack Grealish is one of a host of Premier League stars to break the lockdown restrictions since the pandemic hit. The England winger was fined two weeks wages for his offence […]

Berlin (AFP) – Mainz appointed former fan-favourite Bo Svensson as coach on Monday in the hope he can keep them in the Bundesliga to follow in the footsteps of Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel. Svensson, 41, made 122 appearances for the club before retiring in 2014 and takes over from sacked Jan-Moritz Lichte with the […]

Marseille (AFP) – Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas confirmed on Monday that he would like to sign Napoli's Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik during the January transfer window. Villas-Boas has Argentinian Dario Benedetto, 30-year-old Valere Germain and teenager Marley Ake as his attacking options. Milik, 26, is yet to feature for the Serie A side this term […]

London (AFP) – Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has stepped in to sponsor Marine for their eye-catching FA Cup third round home tie with Tottenham this weekend, the eighth tier club said on Monday Carragher's JC23 Foundation will sponsor the dugouts — one of which will be occupied by Spurs boss Jose Mourinho — and […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho on Monday labelled Tottenham's League Cup semi-final against Brentford as the most important match of his reign. Mourinho's side host second-tier Brentford on Tuesday looking to reach the League Cup final against Manchester United or Manchester City. Tottenham are without a major trophy since winning the 2008 League Cup and […]

Berlin (AFP) – Erling Braut Haaland has been urged by Borussia Dortmund's boss to copy the example of Robert Lewandowski, who developed into a world-class striker during his four years at the Bundesliga club. "Erling, and also his agent Mino Raiola, know what they have in us. I can only advise him to do as […]

London (AFP) – Former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has been promoted to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first-team coaching staff. Fletcher returned to Old Trafford last October to take up a coaching role with United's under-16 squad. The 36-year-old will now step in to help with Solskjaer’s side on a full-time basis. Fletcher was a product […]

Paris (AFP) – Bertrand Traore maintained a hot scoring streak with his third goal in four matches, but could not prevent Aston Villa suffering a 2-1 Premier League away loss to Manchester United at the weekend. The 25-year-old wide attacker from Burkina Faso is blossoming in his first full season with the Villains after moving […]

London (AFP) – Christian Pulisic has urged Chelsea to prove they have the "character" to end the dismal run that has plunged their season into turmoil. Frank Lampard's side suffered a fourth defeat in their last six Premier League games on Sunday as Manchester City eased to a 3-1 win. Chelsea were rocked by City's […]

London (AFP) – Leicester have the potential to disrupt the dominance of the 'Big Six' in the Premier League, says Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers. The Northern Irishman's side lie third in the table after beating Newcastle 2-1 on Sunday. Leicester — who in 2016 became the only club from outside the 'Big Six' to win […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Egyptian club Al Mokawloon Al Arab will battle Wednesday for CAF Confederation Cup survival in Tunisia soon after going on a nine-goal romp in the African equivalent of the Europa League. Mokawloon crushed a Djibouti club captained by former Arsenal and Barcelona star Alex Song 9-1 at home in the preliminary round […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Enyimba of Nigeria will try Wednesday to repair the damage inflicted by Seifeldin Malik, whose hat-trick propelled Al Merrikh of Sudan to a 3-0 CAF Champions League last 32 first leg victory. It is the second time the club from southeastern city Aba have faced such a deficit in the elite African […]

London (AFP) – Frank Lampard knows the demands of being a Chelsea manager under Roman Abramovich more than most having played for nine different coaches during his playing career at Stamford Bridge. Now Lampard is the man in the firing line after Sunday's 3-1 defeat to Manchester City capped a run of one win in […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as champions Juventus bounced back from their first Serie A defeat of the season by beating Udinese 4-1 on Sunday to move up to fifth place. The Milan clubs are top of the Italian league with Juventus 10 points adrift of the summit having played a game less. […]