Birmingham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Trezeguet struck deep into stoppage time to send Aston Villa into their first League Cup final for a decade with a 2-1 win over Leicester on Tuesday to progress to Wembley 3-2 on aggregate. Matt Target's early opener put Villa in front, but Leicester enjoyed the majority of possession and […]

Paris (AFP) – Fourth-tier Belfort made it through to the French Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday after knocking out Ligue 1 outfit Montpellier in a dramatic penalty shootout, while holders Rennes edged 5-4 a nine-goal thriller with top flight Angers. Montpellier are sixth in the French top division but failed to find the net over 120 […]

London (AFP) – Cardiff City have made a legal complaint in a French court to "fully understand" the events surrounding the air crash death of Emiliano Sala, the Championship club told AFP on Tuesday. Argentine Sala was killed just over a year ago when the small plane taking him to join Cardiff after being bought […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United are confident of completing the transfer of Portuguese international midfielder Bruno Fernandes after a breakthrough in negotiations with Sporting Lisbon, according to widespread reports in the British media on Tuesday. United are badly in need of midfield reinforcements due to long-term injuries to Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay. Fernandes, 25, […]

Berlin (AFP) – The president of the German FA has ramped up the pressure on coach Joachim Loew by saying he expects the national team to reach at least the semi-finals of Euro 2020. "We must, and 'Jogi' (Loew) won't like hearing this, reach the semi-finals. Perhaps even the final," Fritz Keller, president of the […]

Berlin (AFP) – A group of RB Leipzig stars has been slammed as 'decadent' by a senior figure at the Bundesliga leaders for bringing a celebrity barber over from England to give haircuts before their shock defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. Ralf Rangnick, head of sport and development soccer for the club's chief sponsors […]

London (AFP) – Fernandinho has signed a one-year contract extension with Manchester City, the English Premier League champions announced on Tuesday. The 34-year-old Brazil midfielder, whose previous deal was due to expire at the end of the season, is now set to stay at the Etihad Stadium until 2021. Fernandinho has been a City mainstay […]

Lyon (AFP) – Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg, the 2018 women's footballer of the year, will be out for several months after rupturing knee ligaments, the club said Tuesday. "A date for surgery will be fixed in the coming days and her recovery will be consistent with known statistics for this kind of injury," the club, […]

London (AFP) – Premier League clubs have until Friday to boost their squads but there has so far been little desire for a spending spree from the richest league in the world. The slump in January spending over the past couple of years shows that the mid-season transfer window is increasingly seen as an undesirable […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has said he did not intend to upset Manchester City fans with comments about the size of the crowd at the Etihad Stadium for Sunday's FA Cup clash with Fulham. A crowd of 39,223, well short of the 55,000 capacity, watched the routine 4-0 win over the 10-man Cottagers. After […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is adamant he has to take a stand over the clash between the midwinter break and FA Cup replays or nothing will ever change. The German boss has drawn criticism for announcing that neither he nor his first-team players will be present for the fourth-round replay at home […]

Milan (AFP) – Christian Eriksen said he was desperate to join Inter Milan this month after completing a protracted move from Tottenham on Tuesday. Eriksen, 27, has signed a contact until 2024 with the Italian giants after the clubs reached an agreement for a reported transfer fee of 20 million euros (£17 million, $22 million). […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich bosses are urging Germany head coach Joachim Loew to recall Thomas Mueller to the national team and take the in-form forward to the Euro 2020 finals. Loew dropped a bombshell in March 2019 by axing Mueller, plus fellow 2014 World Cup winners Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels. Loew ditched the […]

Lyon (AFP) – Lyon forward Martin Terrier will miss Thursday's trip to Nice in the French Cup as a "precaution" after he fainted during his side's 3-0 victory over Toulouse last weekend. The 22-year-old collapsed midway through the first half of Sunday's Ligue 1 game against Toulouse and lay motionless before he received medical attention. […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Flamengo's Copa Libertadores hero Gabriel Barbosa has signed a permanent deal to keep him in Rio de Janeiro until 2024, the Brazilian club said on Tuesday. "We have the red-and-black striker's goals until 2024! GABIGOL IS OURS!" Flamengo wrote on Twitter, using Barbosa's nickname. The on-loan 23-year-old forward scored two […]