Berlin (AFP) – Julian Nagelsmann says Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig must learn from their humbling at Manchester United as a Marcus Rushford hat-trick poured cold water on the German side's Champions League aspirations. Rushford scored three second-half goals at Old Trafford on Wednesday to seal a 5-0 rout of Nagelsmann's Leipzig in Group H. The […]

Manila (AFP) – In a year of coronavirus chaos for sports, the Philippines Football League has come up with an extreme solution: shortening the competition to just two weeks, with each team playing only once. The league, postponed since March, kicked off behind closed doors on Wednesday in a bio-secure "bubble" at the National Training […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Former FIFA number two Jerome Valcke and Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi will discover Friday if their roles in the "Fifagate" scandal, regarding alleged corruption in the allocation of World Cup TV rights, are damning enough to land them a stretch behind bars. That is when the Swiss Federal Criminal Court of […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Notorious for his wild lifestyle, Argentina great Diego Maradona turns 60 on Friday in far more sober circumstances sheltered in self-isolation to protect him from the coronavirus pandemic. Having suffered two heart attacks in the last 20 years and contracted hepatitis, Maradona's precaution after a bodyguard started displaying coronavirus symptoms earlier […]

Mansfield (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Football clubs outside the Premier League that are the beating heart of the English game will vanish unless a financial rescue package is agreed imminently. That is the stark warning from Mansfield Town chief executive David Sharpe, who told AFP a deal was needed within a couple of weeks as […]

Paris (AFP) – Marcus Rashford was again the star for Manchester United in the Champions League with a hat-trick in a 5-0 thumping of RB Leipzig on Wednesday as Barcelona put their off-field troubles to one side to win 2-0 away to a Juventus side deprived of Cristiano Ronaldo. Rashford's late goal earned United a […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Super sub Marcus Rashford scored a clinical second-half hat-trick as Manchester United ripped German league leaders RB Leipzig apart on Wednesday to seize control of their Champions League group. Mason Greenwood looked like grabbing the headlines with his first-half strike but Rashford came off the bench to remind Ole Gunnar […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo missed Juventus' Champions League clash against Lionel Messi's Barcelona, two weeks after testing positive for coronavirus, with the Italian giants losing 2-0 at home on Wednesday in his absence. Messi, 33, set up Ousmane Dembele to put Barca in front after quarter of an hour in Turin, adding a […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Jadon Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland spared Borussia Dortmund's blushes with late goals on Wednesday, as the German side laboured to a 2-0 victory over Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League in a game even their boss admitted "won't go down in the history books". Sancho's 77th-minute spot-kick and a […]

Krasnodar (Russia) (AFP) – Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said he expects Hakim Ziyech to prove his value after the Moroccan star scored his first goal for the club in Wednesday's 4-0 win away to Krasnodar in the Champions League. Jorginho missed a penalty for Chelsea but Callum Hudson-Odoi put the Blues in front before half-time […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Jadon Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland spared Borussia Dortmund's blushes with late goals on Wednesday, as the German side laboured to a 2-0 victory over Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League. Sancho's 77th-minute spotkick and a stoppage time strike from Haaland decided an otherwise turgid game in Dortmund's favour, giving […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Marcus Rashford scored a second-half hat-trick as Manchester United seized control of their Champions League group with a thumping 5-0 win against German league leaders RB Leipzig on Wednesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, who have endured a rocky start to their season, now have six points from two games after […]

Krasnodar (Russia) (AFP) – Hakim Ziyech scored on his first start for Chelsea as Frank Lampard's side powered to a 4-0 victory away to Champions League debutants Krasnodar in Russia on Wednesday. Jorginho missed a penalty for Chelsea but Callum Hudson-Odoi put the Blues in front before half-time after a mistake by Krasnodar goalkeeper Matvei […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Moise Kean's second-half double gave Paris Saint-Germain a 2-0 win away to Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey on Wednesday as the French side got their Champions League campaign up and running but lost Neymar to injury. The world's most expensive player limped out of the action before the half-hour mark and went straight […]

London (AFP) – The British government will be held to account if football clubs fold due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, English Football League chairman Rick Parry said in a letter published Wednesday. Parry adds in the letter, addressed to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden and seen by The Times newspaper, it is […]