London (AFP) – Bruno Fernandes can cement his status as Manchester United's new talisman when the Portugal midfielder gets his first taste of the derby rivalry with Manchester City on Sunday. Fernandes has made a flying start with United following his January move from Sporting Lisbon for an initial £47 million ($61 million). The 25-year-old […]

Paris (AFP) – Second-placed Marseille blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home with lowly Amiens in Ligue 1 on Friday. Andre Villas-Boas' men could only extend their lead over third-placed Rennes, who host Montpellier on Sunday, to nine points. Runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain sit 12 points clear of Marseille, but have seen their […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Trophy-holders Esperance of Tunisia exited the CAF Champions League Friday despite a 1-0 quarter-final second leg win over Zamalek of Egypt through an early Billel Bensaha penalty. Zamalek took a 3-1 lead into the return match and qualified 3-2 on aggregate to meet Raja Casablanca of Morocco or TP Mazembe of the […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Major League Soccer matches in Seattle and San Jose are set to be played on Saturday as scheduled despite growing concern in those areas over the coronavirus outbreak. But the league and clubs are monitoring the situation and staying in touch with health officials over the situation, which has seen 12 deaths, […]

London (AFP) – Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been rewarded for his fine run of form after signing a new five-year contract on Friday. Calvert-Lewin has scored 15 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions this season. The 22-year-old has been in an especially rich vein of form since Carlo Ancelotti took over as manager […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Brazil coach Tite named Lyon midfielder Bruno Guimaraes to the national team for the first time Friday as the Selecao launch their qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup. Guimaraes, who has stood out for Olympique Lyonnais since arriving at the French Ligue 1 club last month, will make his […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker will miss Wednesday's crucial Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid after suffering a hip injury. Alisson sustained the muscle problem in training this week and was sidelined for Liverpool's FA Cup fifth-round defeat at Chelsea on Tuesday. Scans confirmed the 27-year-old will be […]

London (AFP) – Frank Lampard bemoaned on Friday the "worst injury" crisis among the Premier League's top sides as his Chelsea team prepare to face Everton with as many as nine frontline players unavailable. "It hasn't been spoken about that much but we've had probably the worst injury list of certainly the top group of […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho says Eric Dier will be selected against Burnley on Saturday after declaring the England midfielder has recovered from his astonishing row with a fan. Dier climbed into the stands at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to confront a supporter following Wednesday's FA Cup fifth round defeat against Norwich. The […]

Milan (AFP) – A ghostly atmosphere awaits the biggest game of the Serie A season on Sunday as Juventus and Inter Milan prepare for a title tussle behind closed doors while Italy grapples with the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Just 500 people will witness Antonio Conte return to Juve, where he won three Serie A titles […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will face the "best" Manchester United team of the season in Sunday's derby as they prepare to go head-to-head for the fourth time this season. The 3-0 win over Derby in the FA Cup on Thursday made it nine matches unbeaten across all competitions and […]

London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp has urged Liverpool to "fight" as the runaway Premier League leaders battle to end their mini-slump against relegation-threatened Bournemouth on Saturday. Liverpool have lost three of their past four matches in all competitions but remain 22 points clear of Manchester City at the top of the league table. Tuesday's FA […]

Madrid (AFP) – Quique Setien admitted on Friday his assistant Eder Sarabia was wrong in the way he lambasted Barcelona's players with a series of foul-mouthed rants during last weekend's Clasico. Spanish television programme Vamos showed Sarabia making a number of angry outbursts, in which Antoine Griezmann, Gerard Pique and Nelson Semedo were among those […]

London (AFP) – Roy Hodgson has extended his contract with Crystal Palace until the end of the 2020/21 season, the Premier League club announced on Friday. The 72-year-old former England and Liverpool manager, whose previous deal was due to run out this year, said he was delighted to prolong his stay at the London club. […]

London (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has voiced his frustration over how Manchester United's preparations for their derby against Manchester City have been impeded by the scheduling of their midweek FA Cup tie. United cruised through to the quarter-finals at second-tier Derby on Thursday, when Luke Shaw's second career goal and two strikes from January […]