London (AFP) – Antonio Conte hopes a "productive" meeting with Tottenham's hierarchy has laid the groundwork for the club to make signings during the January transfer window. Conte laid out his views on how Tottenham's squad can be improved during talks with chairman Daniel Levy and director of football Fabio Paratici. The Italian has been […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Galatasaray on Tuesday named former Manchester City assistant coach Domenec Torrent as manager, tasked with saving a season that has seen the Istanbul side slip out of title contention. The 23-time Turkish champions have had a dire run, losing three of their last five matches and slipping into the bottom half of […]

Douala (AFP) – Algeria began their defence of the Africa Cup of Nations title with an underwhelming 0-0 draw against Sierra Leone in Douala on Tuesday, as Riyad Mahrez's side struggled to break down one of the tournament's rank outsiders. Qatar-based winger Yacine Brahimi missed the holders' best chance early in the second half, when […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ralf Rangnick says he is unsure why Marcus Rashford is struggling to make an impact after the Manchester United forward toiled in their 1-0 FA Cup win against Aston Villa. The England forward, who has scored just three goals this season, failed to make an impact in Monday's third-round tie […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Japanese football star Kazuyoshi Miura extended his decades-long playing career at the age of 54 on Tuesday with a move to a fourth-tier club managed by his older brother. Miura, known as "King Kazu", said he would "strive to help the team win on the pitch" after joining Suzuka Point Getters. The […]

Madrid (AFP) – It is traditional to say there are no favourites in the Clasico but this time even Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was unable to keep up the pretence. For the past decade, there has been some justification in the usual platitudes, the assertion that games between Real Madrid and Barcelona have a […]

Melbourne (AFP) – Tennis superstar (and soccer fan) Novak Djokovic said on Monday he was still hoping to compete in the Australian Open after winning a stunning victory over the Australian government in his visa battle. The ruling by a judge in Melbourne overturned the cancellation of Djokovic's visa on Covid-19 health grounds, and ended […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United rode their luck to reach the FA Cup fourth round with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Monday thanks to Scott McTominay's early goal. The Scottish international headed home after just eight minutes, but Villa were left to rue a host of missed chances and a controversial […]

Yaoundé (AFP) – Aaron Boupendza stepped up in the absence of Covid-stricken Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to earn Gabon a 1-0 victory over Africa Cup of Nations debutants Comoros on Monday. Arsenal star Aubameyang and midfielder Mario Lemina missed their team's opening Group C fixture in Yaounde after testing positive for the coronavirus last week. Qatar-based Boupendza […]

Yaoundé (AFP) – Former Southampton duo Sadio Mane and Sofiane Boufal both scored to give Africa Cup of Nations title contenders Senegal and Morocco winning starts to their campaigns in Cameroon on Monday. Mane, who switched to Liverpool in 2016 after two years with the Saints, netted a penalty seven minutes into added time to […]

Yaoundé (AFP) – Sofiane Boufal scored on 83 minutes to earn Morocco a 1-0 win over Ghana in Yaounde on Monday after the first clash of titans in the Africa Cup of Nations. The 28-year-old former Southampton midfielder, now with French top-flight club Angers, turned in the goalmouth and fired a loose ball past goalkeeper […]

London (AFP) – The Premier League has revealed a drop in the number of positive coronavirus tests among players and staff for a second successive week. There were 72 positive cases in the latest round of testing between January 3 and 9, an improvement on the 94 recorded in the previous figures. "The Premier League […]

London (AFP) – Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard labelled Philippe Coutinho "invaluable" after the Brazilian star completed a medical ahead of a loan move from Barcelona. Villa confirmed that Coutinho passed his medical and that he was in France while he obtained a work permit. The 29-year-old is expected to join his new team-mates at […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Galatasaray on Monday parted ways with former Turkey and AC Milan manager Fatih Terim after a horrendous run put the Istanbul side well out of title contention. Terim gained hero status by guiding Galatasaray to a UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup double in 2000, making them the first Turkish side to […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona extended Samuel Umtiti’s contract until 2026 on Monday, a deal that creates enough space in the club’s budget to register Ferran Torres, their new signing from Manchester City. Torres has been unavailable to play for Barca since joining two weeks ago because registering the striker would mean falling foul of La […]