Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said Monday that Lionel Messi and Frenkie de Jong will not feature against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League this midweek, instead being given a rest. Barca travel to Ukraine on top of Group G with a perfect nine points after three games, three points ahead of second-placed […]

Paris (AFP) – New Ivory Coast international Sebastien Haller scored his first goal from outside the penalty area in almost 200 Dutch, German and English league matches to give West Ham a 1-0 victory at Sheffield United. Sheffield manager Chris Wilder hailed the 56th-minute strike a "fabulous finish" from the 26-year-old Hammer, who was born […]

London (AFP) – Mikel Arteta is frustrated at Arsenal's growing injury list after losing two more players in their goalless draw at Leeds as his team prepares for six matches in the next three weeks. With Thomas Partey, Pablo Mari and Gabriel Martinelli all sidelined heading into Sunday's game, winger Willian and Bukayo Saka failed […]

Lausanne (AFP) – The head of African football Ahmad Ahmad has been suspended by FIFA for five years for corruption, the global governing body announced on Monday. Ahmad, from Madagascar, has been president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since March 2017 and was standing for re-election in 2021 when FIFA banned him for […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia stopped three straight San Jose penalties as Sporting trounced the Earthquakes 3-0 in a shootout to advance in the MLS Cup playoffs following a 3-3 draw after extra time. Kansas City, top seeds in Major League Soccer's Western Conference, saw Johnny Russell, Ilie Sanchez and Khiry […]

Paris (AFP) – The landmarks just keep on coming for Eduardo Camavinga of Rennes and France, possibly the most exciting teenage prospect in world football. Earlier this month he celebrated his 18th birthday and revealed with a cheeky grin that he had passed his driving test the same day "with flying colours". In the last […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United's inability to turn huge financial resources into a fully functioning team is personified by Paul Pogba's struggle to justify a place in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's far from outstanding side. Not for the first time, Pogba spoke of his frustrations at club level on international duty for France last week, where […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi was almost unrecognisable and so were Barcelona as a rare defeat by Atletico Madrid on Saturday cast further doubt over the direction of the Ronald Koeman project. Atletico had not beaten Barca in the league since 2010, their 1-0 win at the Wanda Metropolitano a timely affirmation that they are […]

Milan (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice to bring his tally to 10 league goals this season before limping off with a muscular strain as AC Milan stayed top in Serie A on Sunday with a 3-1 win at ten-man Napoli. Milan move back two points ahead of Sassuolo — 2-0 winners earlier at Hellas […]

Paris (AFP) – Turkey international Yusuf Yazici struck twice as Lille ended a three-game winless run in Ligue 1 with a 4-0 victory over Lorient that cut Paris Saint-Germain's lead at the top to two points. Yazici slotted home from a Jonathan Bamba pass to put Lille ahead on 28 minutes before flicking in a […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp hailed Liverpool's response to an injury crisis that left him without eight first-team regulars as a dominant 3-0 win over Leicester moved the English champions level on points with Premier League leaders Tottenham. Klopp was without Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara, Xherdan Shaqiri and […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil insisted the table means nothing, despite his team moving three points clear at the top of La Liga after beating Cadiz 1-0 on Sunday. Alexander Isak headed in Adnan Januzaj's cross shortly after the hour mark at the Ramon Carranza to secure a sixth consecutive league victory […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool shrugged off an injury crisis to move level on points with Tottenham at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Leicester, while 10-man Arsenal were left to cling on for a 0-0 draw at Leeds by Nicolas Pepe's red card on Sunday. The champions were without the […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool were not derailed by an injury crisis as Jurgen Klopp's men produced a dominant display to beat Leicester 3-0 and move level on points with Premier League leaders Tottenham. Klopp was missing seven first-team regulars through injury and top scorer Mohamed Salah due to a positive coronavirus test, but Liverpool still […]

Berlin (AFP) – Union Berlin striker Max Kruse endured a bittersweet evening on Sunday as he scored the winner in a 2-1 win away to Cologne but missed the chance to break a 37-year-old Bundesliga record. Having never previously missed a penalty in the league, the 32-year-old looked set to become the first player ever […]