Seoul (AFP) – A South Korean court ordered a local promoter Tuesday to compensate fans for Cristiano Ronaldo's no-show at a friendly match in Seoul last year. The Juventus star stayed on the bench throughout a 3-3 draw with a K-League all-stars team at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in July, despite rounds of appeals […]

Madrid (AFP) – Alvaro Romero had just scored the biggest goal of his life, against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, when he asked for a change of career. "I'm actually a journalist so if there are any newspapers out there that want to hire me, I am available," said Romero, the 23-year-old forward […]

Milan (AFP) – Diego Demme and Eljif Elmas scored their first Serie A goals as Napoli followed up last weekend's win over champions Juventus with a 4-2 victory at Sampdoria on Monday. Gennaro Gattuso's side claimed back-to-back league wins for just the second time this season to move 10th, two points off the Europa League […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool under-23s coach Neil Critchley defended Jurgen Klopp's decision not to take charge of Liverpool's FA Cup fourth-round replay against Shrewsbury on Tuesday and give all of his senior players the night off. Critchley will instead lead a very youthful side similar to the one that lost 5-0 to Aston Villa in […]

Saint-Germain-en-Laye (France) (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel on Monday attempted to play down a touchline spat with Kylian Mbappe which overshadowed the French champions' big weekend win over Montpellier. "There is nothing personal between him and me. These things happen," said Tuchel after Mbappe reacted angrily to being substituted midway through the second […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele pulled out of training on Monday amid fears the Frenchman has suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. "During this morning's training session, Ousmane Dembele felt some discomfort in his right leg as a consequence of muscle fatigue," Barcelona said in a statement. "He will […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola conceded the Premier League title to Liverpool long ago, but his side's profligate attack and porous defence are becoming worrying trends. A sixth defeat of the campaign, at Tottenham on Sunday, means City have now lost as many times this season as in their previous 84 league […]

Paris (AFP) – Egypt forward Mohamed Salah's double helped Liverpool equal Manchester City's record of 20 consecutive Premier League wins and move Jurgen Klopp's side ever closer to the title. Here is a look at some of the key performances from Africans playing in Europe: England MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool) The Egypt forward scored twice in […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Enyimba of Nigeria went on a scoring spree and Zanaco of Zambia defended doggedly Sunday to book the two CAF Confederation Cup quarter-finals places up for grabs. Victor Mbaoma scored twice as former African champions Enyimba trounced San Pedro of the Ivory Coast 5-2 in Abidjan to fill the second qualifying […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo stretched his scoring streak to nine consecutive league games with a penalty double as Serie A leaders Juventus bounced back from their defeat by Napoli with a 3-0 win over Fiorentina, whose owner said Sunday's result left him feeling "disgusted". But title rivals Inter Milan and Lazio also got back […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ansu Fati became the youngest player ever to score a brace in La Liga on Sunday by capitalising on two brilliant Lionel Messi assists to give Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Levante. Fati, at 17 years and 94 days old, broke the previous record held by Juanmi Jimenez, who scored twice for […]

Paris (AFP) – Danish forward Kasper Dolberg scored twice as Nice avenged their midweek French Cup exit to Lyon with a 2-1 victory on Sunday in a game that saw both sides finish with 10 men, while second-placed Marseille were held to a goalless draw by Bordeaux. Lyon qualified for the quarter-finals on Thursday following […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Malawian Frank Mhango continued to wreak havoc among South African Premiership defenders this weekend, scoring twice for Orlando Pirates in a 2-1 victory at Chippa United. The brace took his season tally to 14 from 20 matches, three more than his closest challenger for the Golden Boot, Bongi Ntuli from strugglers […]

Paris (AFP) – Tom Hanks attracted attention on social media Sunday after the Aston Villa supporter posted a tweet appearing to celebrate the English side's League Cup triumph — a month before the final. The two-time Oscar-winning actor has long said he is a fan of the Birmingham club. "Aston Villa took the Carabao Cup! […]

Madrid (AFP) – Sevilla and Real Sociedad both lost ground in La Liga's race for Champions League qualification on Sunday as Getafe beat Athletic Bilbao to climb to third. Real Sociedad lost 2-1 away at struggling Leganes while Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Alaves. In between, Getafe had carved out […]