London (AFP) – Frank Lampard on Friday urged his Chelsea players to step up and show leadership as he seeks to fast-track his Stamford Bridge revolution. Chelsea, who travel to face Manchester United on Saturday, welcomed six major signings during the summer transfer window following a £220 million ($287 million) spending spree. Winger Hakim Ziyech […]

Barcelona (AFP) – For some it has been decades since they last missed a Clasico at the Camp Nou but this weekend they have no choice but to stay away. One of the biggest matches in the global football calendar, Barcelona's home clash with Real Madrid is usually played in front of over 90,000 fans […]

Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane says he has the full support of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and has called on his players to turn their season around by beating Barcelona on Saturday. Madrid and their coach head to Camp Nou under pressure after consecutive defeats to Cadiz in La Liga and Shakhtar Donetsk in […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho said Friday that expects Son Heung-min to be handed a lucrative new long-term contract "sooner or later" after the South Korean's blistering start to the season. The 28-year-old forward, whose current deal expires in 2023, is reportedly in discussions over a bumper new deal at the Premier League […]

London (AFP) – David Moyes has called on British authorities to explain why fans cannot watch West Ham's match against Manchester City at the London Stadium when they can watch it at a nearby cinema. A cinema in a shopping centre just a 10-minute walk from the ground is showing Saturday's match, which can also […]

Belgrade (AFP) – Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic could face a six-month prison sentence in his native Serbia for allegedly breaching mandatory coronavirus self-isolation measures, state prosecutors said in a statement Friday. In March, the Spanish team allowed the striker to leave Madrid in order to spend time with his young family, but local media […]

London (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Friday defended the professionalism of Mason Greenwood, saying the "whole English press" have targeted the Manchester United forward after he was sent home from England duty last month. The 19-year-old has made a big impact at Old Trafford since making his first-team debut in March 2019, scoring 17 […]

Paris (AFP) – Two of the biggest rivalries in world football will dominate the weekend's action in Europe, with the first Clasico of the season being followed by the Ruhr derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke on Saturday. AFP Sport previews the standout action on the continent this weekend: – Clasico: Still the greatest game […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus warm-up for their Champions League clash against Barcelona with a Serie A home tie against Hellas Verona on Sunday, trying to close the gap on leaders AC Milan. Zlatan Ibrahimovic's AC Milan, who next host Roma, are flying high, the only team with maximum points after four games. Andrea Pirlo's Juventus […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ronald Koeman will know Barcelona can plunge Real Madrid into crisis on Saturday but for him a first Clasico as coach is more about vindication. Inflicting a third consecutive defeat in a week on Madrid at Camp Nou would create the sort of turbulence for their opponents that Barca have grown only […]

Madrid (AFP) – "The Clasico is still the Clasico," says La Liga president Javier Tebas. "For the league it's another match but for intrigue and international appeal, it's the two biggest clubs in the world going face to face. It's still the most important club game in the world." On Saturday, Barcelona and Real Madrid […]

Paris (AFP) – Just two months after Paris Saint-Germain's run to the final of the Champions League in Lisbon, and Lyon's appearance in the semi-finals, a miserable midweek for Ligue 1 clubs in Europe's elite competition offered no relief at a time when French football is in crisis off the field. PSG lost 2-1 at […]

Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) – Mohamed Fathi, coach of Mosul's football club in northern Iraq, hardly recognises the ruined soccer stadium once used by Islamic State group fighters to fire rockets and lob mortars from. Piles of rubble lie alongside a pitch of bumpy sand. The high concrete stadium tiers surrounding it — with all seats […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund have been told to forget about social distancing and get stuck into arch-rivals Schalke in Saturday's derby as they look to challenge RB Leipzig at the top of the Bundesliga. Sports director Michael Zorc was fuming as Dortmund crashed to a 3-1 defeat to Lazio in Rome on Tuesday in […]

Paris (AFP) – France head coach Fabien Galthie denied there will be any negative impact after off-field problems between the country's federation and league ahead of hosting Wales in a Six Nations warm-up Test on Saturday. The fixture was in doubt until last week before both bodies had agreed on a maximum of three appearances […]