Berlin (AFP) – Thomas Mueller is backing Bayern Munich team-mate Robert Lewandowski to break Gerd Mueller's phenomenal record of 40 goals in a Bundesliga season after the Poland striker's red-hot start to the campaign. Lewandowski has scored 10 goals in Bayern's first five league games. "When you see how consistently he scores, it's definitely within […]

Paris (AFP) – France is back in lockdown, for at least a month, amid a surge in coronavirus cases across the country, but the Ligue 1 season will this time carry on, unlike earlier this year when the action stopped and never resumed. President Emmanuel Macron announced the second nationwide shutdown on Wednesday, but the […]

London (AFP) – Everton top the Premier League standings by virtue of better goal difference than city rivals and champions Liverpool heading into this weekend's matches. Attack being the best form of defence has certainly seemed the mantra so far this season with a torrent of goals. Here, AFP Sport picks out three games featuring […]

Milan (AFP) – Andrea Pirlo's Juventus head to promoted Spezia on Sunday hoping to have coronavirus-hit Cristiano Ronaldo back to boost their campaign days after their Champions League flop against Barcelona. But rivals Inter Milan will be without star striker Romelu Lukaku against Parma after the Belgian picked up a thigh strain which also puts […]

Paris (AFP) – Jose Mourinho said he would have liked to make 11 half-time changes after his Tottenham Hotspur side slumped to a shock 1-0 Europa League defeat at Royal Antwerp on Thursday, while Serie A leaders AC Milan and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal eased to straightforward wins. Spurs failed to create a single chance of […]

Lille (France) (AFP) – Lille coach Christophe Galtier was emotional after his team's Europa League game against Celtic on Thursday, saying that France is "bruised" following a "cowardly" knife attack in Nice. Three people were killed in a Nice church earlier on Thursday in what President Emmanuel Macron said was an "Islamist terrorist attack". "France […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar will miss three Paris Saint-Germain matches after injuring a thigh muscle against Basaksehir in the Champions League, a French radio network reported on its website on Thursday. Neymar came off after 25 minutes in Istanbul on Wednesday. PSG went on to win 2-0. "The Brazilian, who had tried to play on […]

Paris (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur slumped to a shock 1-0 Europa League defeat at Royal Antwerp on Thursday, while Serie A leaders AC Milan eased to victory over Sparta Prague. Jose Mourinho's Spurs failed to create a single chance of note in a lifeless display, with Gareth Bale, who rejoined the club on loan from […]

Berlin (AFP) – Schalke coach Manuel Baum has compared his Bundesliga strugglers to a bottle of ketchup as he tries to tap their talent and end a 21-match winless streak in Germany's top flight on Friday. "We're like a new ketchup bottle that you have to tap again after opening to get something out – […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – The CAF Champions League semi-final return match between Zamalek of Egypt and Raja Casablanca of Morocco has been postponed from November 1 to a date to be decided, CAF said Thursday. Many of the Raja squad have tested positive for the coronavirus, leaving only 10 fit players, an official of the Casablanca […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Cameroon football legend Geremi Njitap says African countries must not be allowed to stage Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Europe during the coronavirus pandemic. There have been reports that Senegal and Guinea-Bissau were "discussing" moving back-to-back matches during November from Dakar and Bissau to Portugal. Senegal had to postpone at the […]

Rome (AFP) – Italy coach Roberto Mancini expressed his regret Thursday that striker Mario Balotelli hadn't found himself a club during the transfer window, arguing the striker would have been "very useful" for the national team. "I am very sorry to see him in these conditions. At 30, he would still be at full technical […]

Rome (AFP) – Football superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic has leant his weight to a campaign promoting respect for distancing rules and wearing a mask, telling fans not to "challenge the virus" in a video released Thursday by the Lombardy region. The former Sweden striker, who plays for AC Milan, tested positive for Covid-19 a few weeks […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – A fluctuating start to the South African season by star-studded Mamelodi Sundowns continued when they could only draw 0-0 at home against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in a second-round league match. The 2016 African champions were surprisingly eliminated from a cup competition by Bloemfontein Celtic then rebounded last weekend by hammering long-time […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ronald Koeman threw his arms around Lionel Messi and in that moment all seemed well again, Barcelona toasting the resignation of Josep Maria Bartomeu as president on Tuesday by beating Juventus 24 hours later. "This was our best performance of the season," said Koeman shortly after, having just seen Messi score a […]